Why I started Teaching and the road to Remote Tutoring
I loved learning about the world around me when I was a kid. I grew up watching the PBS show Cosmos with Carl Sagan and was drawn into the magic that made life so interesting. Looking up at the night sky filled me with wonder about our place in the vast universe. Curiosity is born from wondering about how things work. When we encourage kids to be amazed at the answers to questions in their brains, we allow their imaginations to develop and their love for learning to flourish.
It was the summer of 2019 that we received the long awaited teacher assignments in the mail. I remember my son Joey’s excitement when he opened the letter and saw Mr. Bertsch’s name listed on the letter. We had heard many great things about Mr. Bertsch and his teaching style, but could not wait to see for ourselves!
Well, were we in for a treat! Mr. Bertsch exceeded all of our expectations and more. Not only did he teach our students the “basics” of 1 st grade, but he taught them about compassion, understanding, and talking things out with their peers. He taught these things in many forms, but the one way that has stuck with Joey is Mr. Bertsch’s love of music. He would incorporate music daily, with songs, poems, and just easy humming techniques. This was such a nice break from the “norm” and the kids truly enjoyed it and could not be more in tune to him.
Unfortunately our year with Mr. Bertsch was cut short due to the pandemic. We were devastated that we would no longer have in person learning with Mr. Bertsch, but to no avail he made remote learning just as exciting as in person! The learning, the singing, the games, the communication, it NEVER wavered just because we were behind a screen. It is very fitting that his new venture is called Kindness Ripples. If you don’t know the meaning of it yet, just wait, you are in for a special treat. Joey still spreads ripples daily and is always reminded of Mr. Bertsch when he does so. We are so grateful for the lifelong impact Mr. Bertsch has on Joey, its educators like him that don’t around too often.
Jennifer K.
Enjoyment of Online Learning
My enthusiasm for teaching started with coaching youth sports. I discovered the power of helping kids develop skills that, in turn, created self-esteem and self-confidence in daily life. By giving them tools to deal with adversity on the field in a productive, positive way, children can become self-empowered and will take risks to get better at something. This translates to learning in the classroom as well.
Taking the time to let young learners discover their gifts and talents takes time and patience. All too often, when in public schools, kids are expected to learn in a certain way on a specific timeline that so often does not correlate with their learning style, interests, or ability level.
When you align a child’s learning style and include their passions of interest, teachers create an environment that will encourage them to enjoy learning and be engaged. More importantly, joy becomes the byproduct of the entire process because the student is treated as an integral part of the learning, not some standardized test being in the driver’s seat.
My Recent Background From classroom to remote instruction
I currently have a masters in both education and as a reading specialist. I am a fully licensed teacher and have taught in Massachusetts for over ten years as a first-grade classroom teacher. I left the public school classroom to start my online tutoring business. For the past three years, I have taught students to read remotely. During that time, I have created a classroom with platforms that are easy to use and engage the learning process. Helping parents teach their kids and empowering them to feel comfortable with reading has been excellent, and assisting them in getting their child caught up to grade level or better. The beauty of teaching this way 1-1 or in small groups makes it easy to address all specific learning styles and follow the natural paths of interest and inquiry. I have helped students make up a whole grade level in 2 months or less with 1-1 tutoring. It is important to educate in the specific window of your own strengths and expertise. Many remote tutors will exaggerate their skills and teach all grades and topics regardless of their education and experience level. Finding a highly qualified teacher to accelerate your child’s learning can finally happen in the convenience of your own home using remotereadingtutor.com.
“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”
The Importance of Social Emotional Learning
While teaching 1st grade, I discovered much about social-emotional learning and the importance of joy and fun in the classroom. Kids only easily learn when they are included in the process. If a child is engaged, feels self-empowered, follows their line of inquiry, and can enjoy what they are doing, learning becomes fun, translating to the desire to become a lifelong student.
Helping students learn to write allows them to discover their voice in the world. Reading opens up the imagination and creates an avenue to unexplored territories. Science is all around us, encouraging imagination exploration and allowing students to collaborate in discovery. Education can be powerful if each child can walk their path and learn in their own way. Please come on this remote learning journey and allow us to sail the ship of discovery with your child steering the course.
The Kindness Ripples Story
Watch this video to learn more, and then continue on to watch my full collection of videos related to kindness.
Kindness Ripples Effect
Kindness generates better physical and mental health benefits both to the giver, the receiver and the observer of such an act of compassion and consideration.
