What I Do
I help adults and teens knock down or get around roadblocks related to less-than-stellar academic performance, testing performance, editing, and general task completion. The shame and frustration associated with seeming unable to complete tasks that appear to be easy for other folks to successfully finish is too heavy to carry. Identifying customers’ blind spots and helping them fill learning gaps is what I do to help them breathe easier and move on to the next stages of their lives. Whether that means grad school acceptance, teacher credentialing, passing trigonometry (or — shoot — basic math), or finally writing an essay as cohesive as magnetized got2b glued plexiglass, I can help.
At a Glance
Founder: Kenisha Carr (Pictured at Right)
Memberships: Modern Language Association, National Tutors Association, TESOL, and National Association of Mathematicians
Date Established: 2011, as Fill Me In English Language Services; in 2019, rebranded as English, Math & More
Where: Oakland, California, United States of America (EMM is based here, but I teach online, so location is only an issue in terms of time zones.)
Why: Honestly, the whys are too long to discuss, here. Let’s just say teaching independently affords the opportunity to be optimally effective.
Bonus: Going to college was one of the best things to ever happen to me, but I don’t think of it as an end all be all. That being written, understand that I work with anyone having trouble with forward movement. Potential customers needing help with vocational testing (e.g., state employment testing, private employer testing, etc.) or general personal enrichment can get help here, too.
My Background & How I Can Help You Get What You Want I have a degree in English language and literature (with special emphasis on secondary education) and an ESL certification. Primarily, I teach English and language arts at the secondary and post-secondary levels (i.e., middle school, high school, college), but I have a knack for teaching math (specifically, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), so I offer lessons in those areas, as well. Prepping students for standardized tests–CBEST, CSET: English, SAT, ACT, HSPT, GRE, US Naturalization (Civics and English)–is a strength and love a mine, too. Focusing on students’ different learning modalities, goals, abilities, and interests helps me boost students’ confidence, which helps them achieve their academic goals. My tutoring and test prep students become optimally prepared for tests. Knowing tricky grammatical and mechanical principles or determining probabilities may not always be necessary in communicating basic ideas, but it helps in understanding broader ideas (in math, at least). This knowledge makes a big difference in determining students’ class placements, and it makes an even bigger difference when competing for college placements and scholarships. Show me a rightly placed preposition, and I’ll show you the money. While I love a good challenge, it’s disheartening to be approached by students (or parents of students) who earn A’s and B’s at school, but who can’t earn 1050 on the SAT, or who take an ESL course but can’t (or are afraid to) speak English (when necessary to meet a goal). There are standards to be met, and I do whatever I can to help my students meet or exceed them.
To ensure program potency:
- Each tutoring or test prep customer begins with a comprehensive diagnostic session.
- Written and oral assessments are used to gauge strengths and weaknesses.
- Periodic quizzes are administered; their regularity depends on how often students meet with me or how well students progress.
- Exit exams are administered at the end of students’ programs.
All I ask is that customers are ready to:
- Be on time.
- Shift their priorities and invest adequate time and energy into getting the results they want.
- Openly communicate their needs, pleasures, and nots.
- Understand that while they may notice improvements as early as the first session, ultimate success will take time, so sustained efforts will be required.
Whether for academic enrichment during the summer or winter, test prep, help with the naturalization exam, or help with a specific project, be sure to contact me so we can determine how to work together to get the results desired by you or your child.
Peace and best,
Kenisha
P.S., Be sure to bring all of who you are to your sessions. Creased, crumpled, crimped, or saggy: I don’t care. Just be ready to do better.