On a rainy afternoon in England, I had volunteered to read to my child’s first grade class. After a warm welcome and lots of sweet cuddles, we all settled onto the carpet to begin the adventures of Curious George. As I looked at the children gazing at me with wonder, I started to question how children go from complete amazement at where written words can take them, to not knowing how to develop a three paragraph essay. I knew this was the case, because my day job was teaching college students, many who struggled with formulating a thesis sentence.

Since that rainy day, I started doing one-on-one tutorials with middle school and high school students to keep them engaged in the written word and to help them write their own essays. These hours of teaching and mentoring are often times my favourite part of the day. We read together, write together, and share ideas. It is my hope that through learning to write, I can inspire future junior scholars to read, to research, to write, and to travel to places where their curiosity leads them.

If you are interested in participating in the Junior Scholars program, inquire below. At current, this program is only open to middle and high school students in California.