About
Hi! My name is James and I am a writing and reading teacher, creative writer, music artist, and graduate student (a whole lot!). I've been teaching for a little over 10 years, but I've been writing fo... r as long as I can remember!
I am excited to be here on lessonpal because I love working with people to help them get across what they want to communicate to other people through writing and understand what other people are trying to communicate to them through reading. I think everyone wants to understand and be understood, so this is my way of offering my skills to help that process!
When I'm not tutoring, I'm spending my time doing schoolwork (which is either teaching, editing poems, or writing poems), writing or making music (mostly hip-hop), playing video games (Naruto and Injustice 2 all the way), or spending time with my family and friends. I'm looking forward to working with you soon!read more
Education
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Writing
2022 - 2024
North Carolina State University
Middle Grades Language Arts and Social Studies Education (6-9), Education
2017 - 2021
Experience
Writing Consultant
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Aug 2022 - present
- Conducts 45-minute, face-to-face and virtual writing sessions with UNC-G students at any step in t... he writing process (i.e. brainstorming, drafting, revising, proofreading) in which their information was collected (e.g. assignment requirements & basics and their main concerns for their work) and their paper was read aloud and discussed thoroughly
- Facilitates group writing workshops for introductory English courses to engage deeper with writing topics that commonly stump writers (e.g. revision, proofreading, thesis statements, paragraph structure, sentence structure, synthesis & analysis, etc)
- Works with graduate students (Masters and Ph.D) to line/copyedit, proofread, and/or developmentally/substantively revise theses and capstone projectsread more
Student U Summer Teacher/School Year Tutor
Student U Durham
Jun 2021 - present
- Taught Social Studies and Chess over the summer for Student U—a middle school to high school educa... tion non-profit in Durham focused on getting underrepresented students to college
- Centered pedagogy around narratives not historically told (e.g. Black American, Latinx/Hispanic, Native American, etc.)
- Provided a diverse range of check-ins to ensure social-emotional well-being (i.e. breath work at the beginning of class, a check-in question, drawing time, etc)
- Maintained regular contact with parents about the well-being of their child as well as future goals for them
- Developed individualized and differentiated curriculum for students with specific learning needsread more
8th Grade Middle School Language Arts Teacher
East Cary Magnet Middle School
Aug 2021 - Jun 2022
- Participated in weekly PLTs to analyze student data
- Developed student-centered and standard-alig... ned unit curriculum to support all learners (ELL, SPED, AIG)
- Created community through classroom and extracurricular engagement via culturally relevant student events, casual hallway conversations, and daily classroom affirmations
Held daily check-ins with students before instruction to ensure social-emotional well-being
- Communicated with parents and guardians at least bi-monthly to update them on student’s academic performance and social-emotional progress as well as provide an open space for them to communicate back
- Taught reading analysis, essay writing, and revising skillsread more
Professor Assistant for Black Literature Class
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
- Aided the professor–Dr. Noelle Morrissette–in crafting a logically sequenced syllabus that adequat... ely framed 20th and 21st Century literature
- Led and contributed to meaningful discussion based on course reading – connected classroom content to current social issues in Black communities and advocacy (e.g. Virtual Reality Black History, police and police brutality, empowerment through education, etc)
- Led two class lectures titled “The Erotic, Power, and Poetry” based on Audre Lorde’s work as well as the power of poetry, and “Hip-Hop as Black Cultural & Historical Literature: Creating Literature for the People,” surveying the dynamic culture and genre Hip-Hop over the last six decades in order to empower students to create their own Hip-Hop versesread more
My Kids Club Youth Advocate, Mentor, Teacher, and Tutor
My Kids Club of Johnston County
Jul 2012 - Apr 2018
- Ensured the well-being of the youth that attended the local Johnston County Boys and Girls Club--n... ow called My Kids Club
- Connected with families, community members, donors, and other stakeholders on a regular basis to ensure the continued operations of My Kids Club
- Tutored youth in math and reading, identifying gaps from the public school instruction and creating safe environments for them to learn or re-learn the content with My Kids Club
- Created and facilitated youth programs (e.g. literacy, math, sex education, etc)
- Identified and aided in bathroom or general building maintenance
Spent one-on-one or small group time with children in order to learn each of their needs while working alongside staff to meet them
- Represented My Kids Club in donor events by highlighting achievements and forthcoming projects
- Connected with community partners and schools to bridge the gap between home and community for youth and families
- Planned and attended community programsread more
