PrepNow Tutor - Venus V.
Venus is a middle-school teacher who is truly excited to be able to positively influence even more students as a StudyPoint tutor. Like many educators-to-be, Venus found her love of instruction by helping high-school peers in areas such as algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. After many great experiences in this role, she knew she would become an educator. Therefore, she pursued and now holds a BA in secondary education in the teaching of English from the University of Illinois Chicago. While completing her degree, Venus worked as a writing tutor for the university, assisting peers in the areas of essay writing, research skills, and time management.
Venus always approaches her instruction with joy and humor. She finds that this helps her to build effective connections with her students. Such connections are one of the three pillars of her instructional approach, which she calls the “three Rs”: relationships, relevance, and reflection. She summarizes the importance of the first two Rs in this way: “I build strong and respectful connections with students, recognizing their individual needs (not just academically but also mentally and emotionally). And I create an academic environment that values their experiences and identities.” She finds that taking this approach allows students to express themselves naturally even as they meet academic goals. As they do so, she models and encourages in her students reflexivity—conscious contemplation of their educational and personal growth. Ultimately, she says, “When students reflect on what and how they learn, they gain ownership of their growth and feel more empowered in their educational journey.”
Outside the classroom, Venus has always pursued physical and mental development. In high school, she played wing in both rugby and soccer, enjoying the duality of the physicality and the strategy needed to do well. She also reveled in being part of a goal-driven team. Venus is also an avid reader, as likely one day to be reading a classic novel as the next day reading a book on mental health. Finally, Venus also enjoys baking, and she is currently perfecting some recipes such as banana bread and pumpkin muffins.
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