Who am I?

When I graduated from college (with a degree in education and linguistics), I went immediately to work as a classroom teacher. I got frustrated just as immediately! I loved the work of actually teaching, but I found that I couldn’t respond to the individual learning needs of my students the way I wanted to. In spite of my frustration (actual spite – I was unwilling to give up the parts of working in education that I liked!) I continued to work in education – for two years I ran a K-8 school library, for two more I was the editor of Growing Without Schooling magazine, and for another four I taught in traditional classroom settings. In addition to each of these positions, I tutored elementary and middle school-aged students in math and other areas, and coached and consulted with parents who were homeschooling their children (or deciding whether or not to homeschool). Throughout this time, I always had my eye on what actually worked best for young people - what kind of support helped them thrive as learners.

In 2006, I left my last school job as a 4th grade teacher to work full-time with individual families and children in Portland, Maine. I work with young people who attend school as well as those who are homeschooled. In this work I have the opportunity to try out learning materials, read about learning and development, and notice and hear about what works and does not work for young people in a range of subject areas and other challenges. (You can learn more about my work in Portland (and my background) on my local website at www.newseptembers.com.)

Why this website?

I have been successful in helping families here in Portland with a variety of learning challenges and longstanding struggles. I created the website as a way to make the results of my work more widely available.

What will you find here?

You’ll find my reviews of learning-related books and curricular materials, ideas for conquering a variety of challenges – from learning to ride a bike to explaining why you may have to change denominators before you add two fractions together – and stories from parents about what’s worked for them. If there’s something you’d like me to address that you don’t see here, you can send me a question in the Ask a Question box on the Home page. I answer questions one at a time (starting with the most commonly asked) in my newsletter. The newsletter also includes information about what’s new on the site, recommendations of other sites and resources to check out, and excerpts from my most recent writing.

Enjoy, and please send feedback!