Teaching ninth grade English at Wyandanch Memorial High School, Wyandanch, NY (Fall 2006).
-Classified by New York State Department of Education as a “high needs” district
-100 percent minority population of 580 students, approximately 90 percent receive free lunch.
-On New York State Department of Education’s watch list for at-risk schools.
-Freshmen arrive deficient in all areas of basic education, most reading at a fifth or sixth grade level, and writing at a level well below that, requiring extensive remediation and re-teaching.
Instruction to date: autobiography (Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story), essays, debate, drama (Romeo & Juliet), grammar, poetry, letter writing, reading comprehension, short stories (The Necklace, The Most Dangerous Game), and vocabulary.
Students keep journals, in which they respond to quotes, questions, and other prompts.
-Taught 11th and 12th grade English at Bay Shore High School, Bay Shore, NY (Summer 2006).
-General placement substitute for several Eastern Long Island, NY school districts (Spring 2006).
-SAT prep and one-on-one enrichment tutoring at BNB Academy in East Northport (2006).
-One-on-one tutor at Stony Brook University’s Writing Center (2004-2005).
-Teaching Assistant for undergraduate classes in The History of English, Literary Analysis and Argumentation, and The 20th Century Novel at Stony Brook University (2004-2005).
-Guest teacher for fourth grade class at Minnesauke Elementary, Setauket, NY. Series of one-hour lessons on interviewing, writing, and editing, resulting in students creating magazine about their school using their own articles, photos, and drawings (2000-2001).
-Lead teacher in Parents as Learning Partners team at Setauket Elementary, Setauket, NY. Program brings parents into classrooms to teach pre-programmed lessons on self esteem, drug awareness, bullying, etc. (1996-1998).
-Substitute religious school teacher for grades seven through 12 (Stony Brook, NY) (1996-2004).
-Religious school instructor for kindergarten through fifth grades (Scottsdale, AZ) (1990-1993).
-Developed, taught, and wrote textbook for adult education classes: Marketing Your Writing and Successful Newsletter Publishing (The Discovery Zone, New York, NY, and Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ).
-Private tutoring for students from elementary through graduate school (ongoing).
LESSONS CREATED AND TAUGHT:
Language: Considering Capitalization, Commonly Confused Words, An Overview of Grammar, Reviewing the Parts of Speech
Poetry: Creating Hyperbolic Poetry, Creating Sensory Poems, Epic Poetry (including Noah & the Flood, Gilgamesh, and The Gita), Humor in Poetry, The Jabberwocky and the Epic (A Look at IPA, Phonetic Pronunciation Guides, Metaphor, and More), Utilizing Vivid Language in Creating Poetry, Writing Ballads
Short Stories: A&P, A Whole Nation and A People, The Cask of Amontillado, Cora Unashamed, Every Two Seconds, The Gifts of the Magi, The Lady or the Tiger, The Most Dangerous Game, The Necklace, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
And More: Black Vernacular English IS a Language, Completing the College Application and Essay, Peer Editing, Point of View, Quickwrites, In-Class Debates
-TBR Newspaper Group, Inc., Reporter (LI, NY) (I continue to freelance here.)
-CosmoCom, Inc., Manager Marketing Communications & Public Relations (LI, NY)
-Bellwether Expositions/Fun Expo, Manager Sales & Marketing (Westchester, NY)
-AIC Conferences, Inc., Trade Show Producer/Director Sales & Marketing (NY, NY)
-WLD Enterprises, Vice President Communications (Scottsdale, AZ)
In 1983, I formed LMN Editorial, an independent firm handling writing, editing, public relations, and marketing consulting. While I have taken a number of full-time positions, I have always maintained
LMN Editorial as well. Some of my projects have included:
-Citizen’s Democracy Corps, Publicist, Business Development Advisor, Editor, Writer (Poland)
-The Copper Development Association, Website Editor (New York, NY)
-Intertec/Primedia, Director Media Relations, Marketing Magazine Division (Stamford, CT)
-The Knox School, Copywriter and Editor (Long Island, NY)
-Sperling Greene Associates, Public Relations Account Executive (New York, NY)
Articles Published in: Brides, The English Record, FIRST for Women, Newsday, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, USA Today, and more.
Books Published: Good Old Food, The Great American Baby Almanac, Marketing Your Writing, Work & Working
Software Facility: Excel, PageMaker, PowerPoint, Publisher, Quark, Word, and WordPerfect (all on PC and Mac). Also proficient in use of Smart Board and basic website development.
MAT: English, Stony Brook University, 2005 (GPA 3.9)
BA Liberal Arts/Journalism, Stony Brook University, 1981