What Makes a Good Voice Teacher

What Makes a Good Voice Teacher Suzy S. Finding the right vocal coach is an important factor for your success when it comes to singing lessons. You need someone who will encourage and motivate you, but also provide the right feedback and guidance. Read on as Glendale teacher Ariel P. shares what shes learned from her own mentors When I was in graduate school my teacher had a new “tool” every week.  At first I thought the tools were amazing and I could not believe the level of her creativity.  How could she come up with a new “tool” and cute name every single week?  I would go into my lesson and she would say something like, “We’re going to do the Dolphin today.  Oh I’ve never showed you the Dolphin before?  Well just take this rolled up towel, lay on the floor, and put it under your lower back.  This will ease your lower back tension.” The only problem was that I did not suffer from lower back tension.  Other students had that problem, but not me.  I had other issues that manifested themselves into lower back tension, which were never addressed because she was too busy finding new “tools” and insisting that every single student use them, regardless of if it worked for them or not.  This teacher was not truly listening and diagnosing problems that could have been easily fixed.  She was generalizing and assuming that everyone suffered from the same issues. Since graduating, I have found a voice teacher that not only listens but empathizes.  His ear is refined enough to quickly diagnose the root of the problem.  He has a bag of “tools” that he uses as needed and when appropriate.  If he finds that one approach is not working, then he will attempt something else to achieve the desired result.   But the most important element is that the lesson is tailored to my individual needs. The lesson is also based on my own feedback and experience.  Because of this, I am able to self-diagnose even outside the lesson and I am better equipped to help students of my own. When teaching students, I have my own “tools” to pool from. To begin with, I like to teach what are called “vocal function exercises.”  These are a series of sounds on the letters m, ng, v, z, th, and n that help teach the different muscles in the mouth, throat and diaphragm to behave in coordination.  For example, if a student is having tension in the strap muscles (the muscles running parallel to the larynx, on either side of the neck, running down into the shoulders and chest), I would have them vocalize on z with a passive airflow.  When this is done correctly, it releases all of the tension from these muscles and allows for the diaphragm to do the work instead of the neck muscles.  Once this is established, I turn z into a vocal exercise to apply the new coordination.  Then I apply that to the most difficult part of the song the student is singing at the time.  This is how I break down the lessons for the betterment of the student. Be aware of the tools that work for you! With the right voice teacher, he or she will be able to help you with this. Ariel P. teaches singing, Broadway singing, opera voice and speaking voice lessons to students of all ages in Glendale, CA. She received her Masters degree in Voice from the University of Southern California, and joined the TakeLessons team in December 2012. Learn more about Ariel, or search for a teacher near you! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by familymwr

The World of Work

The World of Work Are Schools Preparing Students for a Future that Doesn’t Exist? ChaptersThe future World of WorkThe Industrial Model of EducationWhat is Success?What are the material markers of a successful life?A steady job?A high salary?Owning a house?What do you need to do to achieve these?  Traditionally, the pathway to this golden future would be an academic success at school, leading to a place at a good university and then on to a high-flying job in a big company. But will that still be the case in the future? Is it even the case  now? CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 ( 3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe future World of WorkIn his new book, ‘Beyond Nine to Five‘, Ade McCormack writes that the old industrial models of work are dying o ut and being replaced by models that are more collaborative, flexible, highly creative and entrepreneurial.‘Over time, if your job can be done by a robot, it will be done by a robot‘-Ade McCormackWe now live in a digital economy, and McCormack believes  that this new economy only needs ‘leaders’ and ‘doers’. The hierarchical organisation of old, with the boss at the top, managers in the middle and lowly workers at the bottom has a soon-to-be-reached expiration date.In the digital economy, people do not have to have just one career. Now more than ever, there are a variety of different career frameworks to choose from (permanent employment, freelancing, hybrid, entrepreneurial), and a person can move between these different modes throughout their life, and even run some of them in parallel.The future world of work will be shaped by certain key drivers, writes McCormack: globalisation, an economic power shift to the East and South, technology advances, energy security and t alent shortage. The nature  of work is being reshaped and we must recognise that if we are to thrive.How well is school preparing our children for the world of work? Photo Source: UnsplashThe Industrial Model of EducationUnfortunately, McCormack goes on to say that schooling has not yet caught up with this brave new world of work. According to him, our schools are simply continuing in the grand industrial-age tradition of converting free-thinking pre-schoolers into compliant cogs ready to slot into a system that no longer has a place for them. He isn’t alone in this harsh assessment.The educationalist  John Taylor Gatto  said in his  acceptance speech  for the New York City Teacher of the Year Award back in 1990 that:‘The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.’He didn’t blame teachers or a lack of money â€" Taylor Gatto felt it was simply that the school model made true education impossible.McCormack believes  that in order to equip yo ung people with the skills to do well in the future world of work, our education system needs to encourage risk-taking, promote self-ownership of one’s life, develop artistry, provide students with the tools to help them find their true path and encourage students to defend their ideas whilst also being open to new information and experiences. There is no place for conformity and risk aversion in this new world.What is Success?But before we rush to tear down the old system and replace it with one we feel will help students achieve success in the future, we should ask ourselves some questions:Are the old measures of success  still valid? Are high salaries, steady jobs and home ownership achievable or even desirable?Or could there be other measures of  a successful life? If we replace the word ‘success’ with ‘wellbeing’, how might that change the discussion?In ‘Top Five Regrets of the Dying‘,  a news article that has received almost 180k shares on social media, it is tel ling that  every one of the regrets people have relates to failures in relationships with themselves and with their friends and family.Failure to make enough money, buy a house or climb to the top of the career ladder don’t get a look in.

ACT English Tips

ACT English Tips At first, the English section of the ACT may seem insurmountable. You must select the best and most grammatically sound option from complex and sophisticated choices. At times, it may seem as though each answer is equally correct or incorrect. You will also be asked about the purpose, organization, and style of passages, which may be dense and difficult to understand. If you struggle in english you may want to consider an ACT english tutorwho can help you with your studies or aprep book. However, there are several strategies you can apply to the English portion of the ACT in order to make questions more comprehensible and to maximize your score: 1. Answer simple questions first Questions in the English section are ordered by their location within the passages, not their difficulty. As you progress through the selection, address easy questions first generally, these are ones that ask about grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Skip the more difficult problems those that ask large questions about the main point of the passage or the purpose of the author until you finish reading the piece and have a strong sense of its meaning. If you are stopped by a particular question, move on you will earn the same points for problems irrespective of difficulty, so do not waste your time on one when you could be quickly answering two or three in the same amount of time.Here are some great tips on how to prep for the ACT english sectionthat you may find useful. 2. Context is important Even when you are correcting grammar or sentence structure, it may be helpful to understand the larger context. If the answer has correct grammar but changes the meaning of the sentence or phrase, it is most certainly the wrong choice. If the underlined portion is only several words in length, read the entire sentence; if a sentence is underlined, skim the sentence immediately before and after in order to locate the context. 3. Finish the passage before moving on Time is crucial on this section and the ACT as a whole. Here, questions are related to one of five reading passages. If you return to a question later, you will most likely have to reread the selection to remember its content. This wastes valuable time. Instead, answer all questions in the passage before addressing the next piece, even if you have to make educated guesses. This is some great information onhow the ACT is scored that you may want to take a look a before taking the test. 4. Embrace the No Change answer On usage and mechanics questions in the English portion, you are presented with the option of choosing the original form of the underlined portion as the correct answer. Since the ACT gives equal odds to each answer choice on the exam, there is a 25% chance that No Change will be the correct response. Often, students are compelled to always choose another answer, or to believe that the No Change option is a trap. However, it is the valid choice one out of four times, so be certain to consider it when answering problems. 5. Eliminate answer choices This is a useful tip on all the sections of the ACT. Consider all four answers and then eliminate those that are clearly wrong. You will not have to compare all the possibilities in order to determine the correct one. Nor will you be influenced by an incorrect answer that is addressing a different grammatical concept or that is changing the meaning of the underlined portion. You may want to take a few ACT practice teststo help you prepare as well.

Our Advice To Master English Pronunciation

Our Advice To Master English Pronunciation Our Tips For Good English Language Teaching ChaptersHow Can You Perfect Your Pronunciation?What Is The English Accent?The Importance Of Flexibility In Speaking EnglishListen To English To Improve Your PronunciationCommon Pronunciation Errors In EnglishFrustration When Learning EnglishAlthough English does not use any written accents to give clues to the way that the language should be spoken. There are some stringent rules about English pronunciation, which should be followed if you want to be correctly understood.It can be challenging to understand the notion of the hidden tonic accent in English, and many words just have to be learnt individually. For example the word ‘read' which can be said in 2 ways, both have different meanings. This word has no accents or indications of how to read the word nor which pronunciation is correct until it is added to a sentence to give context.We see this occurs a lot in English, for example, why are two words that are almost identical (beard and heard) not pronounced following the same ru les? To communicate in English, follow our advice and we will squash some of these mysteries! JulianESOL (English) Teacher 4.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EugeneESOL (English) Teacher 4.90 (58) £22/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HelenESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (20) £32/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SuzanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (2) £45/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (8) £55/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SamuelESOL (English) Teacher 4.83 (41) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (43) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow Can You Perfect Your Pronunciation?You will have noticed, that pronunciation in English is very different from your own language. If you already practice English, you probably already know about the different element s that are involved: • The pronunciation of English sounds. • The pronunciation of English words. • The rhythm of the sentence. • The intonation within a sentence.There different English sounds internationally. Photo Source: UnsplashIt is very likely that even with a grammatically correct sentence, that you have already been misunderstood, especially by a native English person. A significant part of proper pronunciation is practising the language and learning how to pronounce each word.Even native English speakers have to do this because how you read a word does not always equal how you say it. For example, ‘Southwark' which is an area in London is not said how it read. I used to see tourists come onto the bus all the time asking for South-Walk and no one knew what they were talking about. But once you learn that the area is called suth-ark, you can be immediately understood.In this case, you need to learn this word independently and add it to the long list of irregular wo rds in the English language.What Is The English Accent?English is one of the most commonly spoken languages on the planet, many countries speak English as a first language. All of which have their own expression of the language. To complicate matters further not only are there different English sounds internationally and different ways to pronounce words but also within countries you can find different pronunciations.Make friends internationally with people who are open to globalism. Photo Source: UnsplashIn the United Kingdom, the spoken accent between the north and south of the country as very different. For example, when I travel from London up to the north in Scotland, I do struggle to understand the English spoken there. While the English words have a similar meaning worldwide, the rhythm and the intonation do differ significantly in all parts of the English speaking world.So when we speak about English accents, it is better to try to focus on one country zone at a time. For ex ample, asking what is the English accent like in the united kingdom or the USA is a more straightforward question to answer although still too broad to give a sensible answer. The English accent is vast and varied all over the world. JulianESOL (English) Teacher 4.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EugeneESOL (English) Teacher 4.90 (58) £22/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HelenESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (20) £32/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SuzanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (2) £45/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (8) £55/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SamuelESOL (English) Teacher 4.83 (41) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoanneESOL (English) Teacher 5.00 (43) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe Importance Of Flexibility In Speaking EnglishThe first step to speaking Engl ish as a native is to agree to be flexible in the way that you speak. Indeed, it is often said that children learn English more easily, but children are just more flexible in their thinking and have no problem changing their way of thinking and speaking. But adults are only as able to pronounce English correctly and progress in the English language provided they agree to change the way they form their words and express them verbally.Listen To English To Improve Your PronunciationIf it is your aim to learn to speak English quickly, it is best to listen to it as often as possible! This can be in conversations, in movies, on the radio, online or in exchanges. This is how children learn to speak their mother tongue. Using the same technique and given dedication and patience, you can do the same. Listening and imitating is of course very important when you are working to improve your pronunciation skills.Regularly learning by exposure is a great way to make your language learning more ac cessible. Listen to the radio in English, watch films in English listen to music in English, you have access to English in many areas all of which can help to solidify your learning.But be careful, not only to listen do back up everything you are hearing with lessons about what it is that you are learning.Tips For Where To Find Opportunities To Improve Your English Language Skills.YouTube has many wonderful videos which can help you learn all about how to pronounce a word in English.  Audible is an audiobook website which allows you to listen to books. The great thing about this is that you can buy the book in English and follow along with audible.Netflix and Amazon Prime are a few online streaming services which allow you to watch movies, documentaries and TV series with subtitles. The great thing is that they also have options to listen in multiple languages and read subtitles in various languages too.Listen To English To Improve Your Pronunciation. Photo Source: UnsplashOnline ap ps like Babbel which allow you to meet with other language learners and improve your English oral skills by exchanging a language or working together.Websites like Couchsurfing are an international travel community where you can also interview new English people or make friends internationally with people who are open to globalism and meeting people from other cultures and background.The point of couch surfing is for you to share your culture and help people from other countries. In their forums, you can find many English speakers who will be willing to help you. Also, should you choose to you could host an English speaker in your home or travel to meet a native English speaker.You can join forums like those on the lonely planet website to meet people who would like to help people from other countries so that you can learn and concrete your English.Common Pronunciation Errors In EnglishErrors in English are easy to make and hard to correct when you are unsure of what mistake it is t hat you have made. Some common errors seen in English are: Pronouncing the ‘th' - This is one of the hardest sounds to pronounce in English, and it can be pronounced in a few different ways.Confusing the ‘L' and the ‘R' - these sound are often mixed up which gives a different meaning to the words altogether. For example Rice and Lice. Confusing the ‘W' and the ‘V' - This is often noticed when saying the word water or west. Again saying Vater instead of water gives your sentence a different meaning which could give confusion to listeners.The changing intonation with the letter ‘E' - Adding an ‘e' to a word changes the syllables, for example Not and Note although they look the same are not said with the same intonation. Not is said with 1 syllable and Note has 2 syllables. Silent consonants â€" Many words in the English language contain letters which are silent, words like Wednesday which are said Wensday. It is hard to know which words have silent letters as there is no structured rule to define how it works.Learning the words with silent letters is an excellent way to make sure that you are pronouncing words correctly.Frustration When Learning EnglishEnglish can be a very frustrating language with its different rules, lack of structure and disconnection between the pronunciation and writing of the language. This is perfectly expressed in the poem Our strange lingo(source: https://www.7spell.com/our-strange-lingo-a-humorous-look-at-pronunciation/).When the English tongue we speak. Why is break not rhymed with freak? Will you tell me why it's true We say sew but likewise few? And the maker of the verse, Cannot rhyme his horse with worse? Beard is not the same as heard Cord is different from word. Cow is cow but low is low Shoe is never rhymed with foe. Think of hose, dose, and lose And think of goose and yet with choose Think of comb, tomb and bomb, Doll and roll or home and some. Since pay is rhymed with say Why not paid with said I pray? Think of blood, food and good. Mould is not pronounced like could. Wherefore done, but gone and lone â€" Is there any reason known? To sum up all, it seems to me Sound and letters don't agree.The inconsistencies in English comes about because the language has been inspired by Germanic, Norse, French, Italian, Arabic and many more languages. Since we can't change the rules of English spelling and pronunciation, we might as well learn what we can and study hard to overcome them. Enjoy and good luck!

How to Stay Focused on Long Reading Passages

How to Stay Focused on Long Reading Passages Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a long reading passage on a standardized test, only to realize you havent internalized a single word? You look at the clock to find that six minutes have passed and then the panic sets in. No matter how many times you read the passage, you just cannot seem to grasp it. This is a common problem among many test-takers; after all, standardized tests are meant to challenge you. Staying focused during standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT can be challenging, but comprehending these long reading passages is key. Here are a few tips on how to stay focused during the much-dreaded long reading passages on standardized tests. [RELATED: ACT Reading Tips] Practice One way to stay focused is to prepare for the exam by taking practice tests. The more practice you have under your belt, the more likely you will recognize how short of a time period you actually have to complete the standardized test you are taking. There is nothing like a bit of nerves to keep you on track and remind you that time is ticking. Notes Another way to remain alert during the entire length of a reading passage is to write notes along the way. Obviously, you do not have time to summarize every detail you read, but a note here and there will aid you in understanding the text overall. This method takes practice, so be sure to implement it into your strategy before the actual day of the test. Figure out the type of notes that are most helpful for you to have once you finish the passage. Perhaps making a note when you find an interesting sentence is a good way to jog your memory. Or you could try noting the moment you encounter a new character or intriguing quote. However you choose to apply this method, stick with it. It likely wont benefit you to change your process midway through your exam. If you find yourself daydreaming, return to the last note you took and begin reading from that pointit sure beats having to start all over again from the beginning of the entire passage! Ask questions in your head If you feel note-taking absorbs too much of your time, consider asking yourself some checkpoint questions while reading the passage. These questions you ask yourself should be personalized, but here are a few examples to work from: What is the main point of this paragraph? What are the most important details here? Is this important or is it just additional background information? Who is speaking at this moment? Was this an example of a particular literary device? Can I summarize this paragraph in one sentence or less? Why is this section included in the passage? Asking questions forces you to engage with the text, not just glaze over it. If you find that you are struggling to answer even the most basic questions about a section of text, it is probably safe to say that you should go back and reread. Balancing time and reading can be a challenge, but just remind yourself that you must understand the text in order to truly succeed on the test. [RELATED: How to Interpret a Reading Assignment] Mouth the words While reading out loud would be a stellar strategy to use during a standardized test, it would be quite distracting to your fellow test-takers. However, one strategy you can implement while going through a long reading passage is to mouth the words as you read them. Yes, you may look a bit strange, but does it really matter? Moving your lips as you read is going to help you slow down (a reasonable amount) and concentrate on every single word. By doing this, you will hopefully be able to stay focused and follow a good reading pace for the entire passage. Finding the best strategy for you is a matter of practice. Once you figure out the tactic that works for you, use it consistently.

Singing Lessons for Kids 10 Ways to Support Your Child

Singing Lessons for Kids 10 Ways to Support Your Child Suzy S. If your son or daughter loves to sing, a private teacher can teach him or her how to sing correctly and stay excited about learning! Here, St. Augustine, FL teacher  Heather L.  shares 10 ways you can support your child throughout the journey Kids are simply made to sing. In most of the lessons that I teach, no matter the students age, I inevitably find myself teaching her how to be a kid in some way. Shaking out tense muscles, dancing to the beat, making animal sounds, keeping it simple, opening your heart these are things that kids do naturally all the time. That, in turn, makes it easier for most children to learn how to sing correctly and well. Be that as it may, it can seem difficult at times to find ways to support your young singer effectively. Heres a list of 10 ways to support your child. 1. Say positive and encouraging. Humans, especially children, will desire to live up to the qualities that are expected, or even  simply named to them. Telling your child that youre proud of him simply for choosing to take  voice lessons or calling that song that hes been working on beautiful can make his entire  week. On the other hand, one harsh, overly critical word could make him want to quit  altogether. 2. Encourage healthy speaking habits. What we call the voice is really a group of different muscles and tissues working together to create sound. They may be fairly resilient in adults, but in children they can be easily damaged, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently. Encourage your child to learn and practice healthy speaking habits: • No whispering • No screaming • No vocal fry (a phonation that sounds like popcorn popping) • No straining or belting (unless being trained by a specialist) Listen for swelling of the vocal folds uneven vocal tone, breathiness, roughness and ask your  child to go into low voice mode for a few days, where their voice is warm, but low in volume.  She could pretend to be talking to a secret fairy or a bug right in front of her nose. 3. Provide a healthy diet. Healthy diet means something different to everyone. One thats supportive of singing  (and staying well-behaved in a voice lesson or choir practice) includes lots of non-dairy  fluids for hydration, raw vegetable and fruits to combat inflammation in the vocal folds and  surrounding tissues (especially apples and dark, leafy greens), and fish for focus and  concentration. Now, as a parent, I understand how impossible this diet can be at times. But  whats great about highly nutritive food is that even a little bit can make a difference. 4. Help with home practice. Sit down with your child, look at her schedule, and plan out practice sessions. They dont have  be very long (15 minutes a day is fine) but they should be daily. Set a timer,  encourage gentle warm-ups, like humming or lip bubbles, and let your child sing his assigned  songs in as much privacy as youre willing to give. Feeling self-conscious affects a singers voice  more than anything, so try to give some space. That is, unless your child invites an audience! 5. Experience live music together. So much of the music that our children experience these days is from a phone or tablet. Give your child the special gift of experiencing live music with you. This gives you the chance to talk about it together: What did you like? What didnt you like? Was the music fast or slow? Loud or soft?  Getting your kid thinking critically about music, even if youre not a musician yourself, is so  important in keeping music interesting and fun. 6. Load fun music games onto your devices. Look for apps like NoteWorks or Junos Piano. Theyre fun, educational, and easy to learn.  Your little one will know her musical alphabet by heart in no time. 7. Get a keyboard. Even keyboards that arent the full 88 keys are beneficial for singers, especially young ones.  The voice is a musical instrument that essentially is the human body itself, so being able to  go to an outside instrument for reference and support can be really helpful. 8. Play animals. Getting kids to understand vocal language like space  or registers can be tricky. Pretending to be specific animals, like an owl to demonstrate  an open, floating, and well-supported sound, can be a lot of fun and supports what your childs  teacher is teacher. Consult your childs teacher for more exercises. 9. Eliminate secondhand smoke. If you or someone in your household smokes, then consider smoking only outside or in the  garage. Secondhand smoke is harmful in many ways, most notably to the voice. 10. Be there. Be the parent who attends the big recitals and concerts. Knowing your mom and dad are in  an audience means the world to a kid. You, as a parent, could be the single most important part of your childs vocal education. The trust and confidence that your child places in you every day is so precious. Use it wisely to motivate, nurture, and guide your young singer, and shell learn much more than just how to carry a tune. Heather L. teaches singing, piano, acting, and more in St. Augustine, FL, as well as through online lessons. She is  a graduate of the prestigious Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has performed with the New York and Royal Philharmonics, the New Jersey and Virginia Symphonies, the American Boy Choir, and the internationally renowned opera star Andrea Bocelli.  Learn more about Heather here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  Nick J Webb

Volunteer Day at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills

Volunteer Day at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills AJ Tutoring’s first volunteer days were great successes! Over two days, 25 tutors came out to work on the organic farm at Hidden Villa, an educational non-profit based on 1600 acres of land in Los Altos Hills. Hidden Villa’s mission is to inspire a just and sustainable future through its programs, land, and legacy. We were happy to volunteer our time to help that happen!One day’s crew was put to work in the CSA (community supported agriculture) plot to transplant crops for the growing season. In three hours, we were able to plant 2,000 onions, 800 heads of lettuce, and 80 fennel bulbs. Our transplanted spinach and tomatillos will provide nearly 500 pounds of food! We finished the hot afternoon by digging 500 “homes” for tomato plants that will soon be transplanted in the field.Our second day’s crew worked in the olive grove near the CSA lot. Hidden Villa’s half-acre olive grove produces hundreds of gallons of olive oil each year. We worked to cover the grove with mulch, which helps the soil around the trees retain moisture and nutrients. This group also took a farm tour, which included baby pigs, baby goats, and chicks.A big thank you goes out to the team at Hidden Villa for helping us coordinate these volunteer days!

General Test Anxiety - Private Tutoring

General Test Anxiety BobbiM Apr 17, 2014 Ya we know, tests can be scary. Test anxiety is similar to writing and math anxiety except it is a feeling of stress when studying for or taking an exam, regardless of the subject. You might worry about the types of questions that will be on the test, forgetting about and missing the test, or studying the wrong material. Students who experience test anxiety are often paralyzed with fear when faced with a test situation and they end up missing questions they knew. Many different experiences can lead to test anxiety. It might be caused by past test-taking experiences, such as blanking on answers, or failing an exam. It could also be caused by inadequate test preparation. If you know that you are not really prepared to take an exam, its natural to be anxious about it. Test anxiety can also be caused by competition with your friends or classmates. If you are focusing on how others are doing, you might cause yourself undue stress. In addition, test anxiety can be caused by a lack of confidence in yourself as a learner. When students feel that they are not good learners, they tend to scone more anxious about testing situations. If you find that you are talking negatively to yourself about you ability to learn, you may actually be causing yourself greater anxiety. Coping with test anxiety. To cope with general test anxiety, try the following suggestions: -Be prepared. If you monitor your learning to the point where you know which concepts you understand and which concepts are giving you problems, you will feel more confident. Allow enough time for studying, but also have all of the things you need ready for the test. Do you need a pencil, calculator,, notes, or anything else? You dont want to be tracking these things down right before the test, so be ready to go the night before. -Understand the task. Talk to the professor about what the exams will be like. Even better, try to look at some of the professor sold exams. Examining retired tests will give you an idea of what kinds of questions the professor asks and will also help you become familiar with the professors questioning style. It is also a good idea to talk to the professor or to students who have taken the class about the content and format of the exams. -Arrive to take the test a bit early. Get organized and practice some deep breathing techniques to relax. Take a few deep breaths; think of something you find comforting-the sound of the ocean, a walk in the woods; concentrate on and relax each of your muscle groups. -Have an approach in mind. If you find you blank out in exams, try to make jot lists as soon as you get the test. Read each question and just jot down everything you know about it in the margin of the test. Dont look at any answers if it is a multiple-choice type test, just write everything you know before you blank out. -Focus on you. Ignore other students who finish the exam before you. Just because they finish before you does not mean that they know more than you do. It might be that they are done so early because they dont know the answers. But either way, dont worry about what other students are doing. -Get help controlling your anxiety. There are usually several resource areas on campus that can help you. You might need some tutoring in course content, or some counseling to deal with your anxiety, or you might be eligible for alternate testing situations such as increased time for tests. -Visualize your success. Think about how well you will do before you walk into the test and remind yourself that you are well prepared and ready to go as the test is being handed out. The more positive you can be, the less anxiety youll feel. Excerpt from  College Success Strategies  by Sherrie L. Nist and Jodi Patrick Holschuh.