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"Why is writing so hard?"
Writing encompasses everything from coming up with ideas, planning, understanding the purpose of an assignment, shaping paragraphs, assembling sentences, to staying focused--down to the last spell-check.
I want to help learners of every age find greater ease in self-expression, whether writing a college application essay, generating a paper of literary analysis, or studying vocabulary. I want them to become stronger readers, writers, thinkers.
When I get to know new families, I strive to understand their goals, and I develop strategies to strengthen skills for every student. Whenever possible, I love to tailor the materials to their interests.
In addition to overall language arts and humanities studies, I support students with language-based learning challenges, including dyslexia and dysgraphia. To better serve all learners, I studied Wired for Reading, a kid-friendly linguistics program designed to strengthen reading, spelling, and vocabulary. To supplement my knowledge of handwriting mechanics, particularly for students who learned at home during the pandemic, I've begun studying Handwriting Without Tears. Even with keyboarding, it's critical that students retain the skill of writing by hand.
Past elementary school, few schools continue to focus on writing fundamentals. So for many students, with all kinds of minds, a structured approach, beginning at the sentence level, is the place to start.
Before becoming a mentor for writing and learning, I worked as a journalist and writer for Microsoft and other Seattle-area ventures. As a writer, I tell stories through a human lens, designed to make businesses grow and individual lives better.
Bringing together my professional background in communications and my passion for lifelong learning, I encourage a skill-based, conversational writing and thinking process with time-tested tools, craft, and heart.
Whether your focus is remediation, enrichment, or a college application essay, I'm happy to be a resource.
michelle.writingmentor@gmail.com
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An exploration of writing, teaching, and the next generation
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Take a quick peek. Thanks for reading!
October is an ideal time for us to recognize the contributions of women at Microsoft. With Grace Hopper going on this week, we're celebrating women in technology and business. We recently featured Sarah Filman, a Senior PM Lead for Microsoft OneDrive, who is attending this sold-out conference.
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