ACT Writing and ACT Reading tutor

About Troy

Despite my age I have been teaching in various environments and working in the educational field for most of my adult life. Ever since I went to college I spent time tutoring and helping people understand an array of subjects that ultimately helped many of them pass classes they originally viewed as impossible. When I finished my undergraduate college career I spent time doing volunteer work in Alaska with Americorps. Those five months brought many hardships and taught me the patience and persistence that would be necessary in my next job, which was teaching abroad in South Korea. That was, by far, the most difficult job I have held in my entire life. Not only was it challenging because teaching is inherently a difficult profession, but because culturally it was a huge shock. I spent many hours overtime trying to learn the language, understand the people, and relate to my students.
My next job was with Minnesota Reading Corps, yet another branch of the Americorps that focused on education as opposed to environmental work. I spent an entire school year with a group of children (ages four and five) helping them learn the basic skills necessary for reading and writing to ultimately work to close the achievement gap. This included working on letter sounds, rhyming, letter names, alliteration, picture names were our main focuses since that is what will help them become literate in later years. Most of the children didn’t have stable home lives, and often the school was the most stable institution they could rely on.
While going to graduate school at Augsburg College, I worked full time in a financial aid office at Capella University. Once I completed my license and the majority of my coursework, I spent a year substitute teaching every day in Saint Paul public schools. This is where I really learned first hand what it was like to teach in a difficult, ever-­‐changing environment with little to no resources available to assist me with confrontational students. While I have taught in many different settings, substitute teaching was by far where I learned the most about students, teachers, and the learning environment.
I am truly passionate about teaching and making learning a fun and relatable experience for all students. I remember when I was in high school and what it is like to have a teacher who doesn’t take the steps necessary to make the material meaningful and relevant. Without that link it is impossible to make students interested and I think by varying the media used, allowing alone and group work, testing in various ways, and providing a multitude of diverse works of art and perspectives we can increase the amount of material students take in while at school.
Currently, I teach English, TOEFL, and ACT/SAT preparation in the International Program at Escondido Charter High School. I am available to answer any questions you have about my teaching experience or my outlook on education.