I have been fascinated with writing, communication and the art of persuasion for as long as I can remember. I grew up participating in competitive Speech and Debate competitions, and in high school I was ranked 5th in the state and 14th in the nation for persuasive speaking in Speech and Debate. I have a BA in Communication with a triple minor in English, History and writing from the University of California, Davis. I have over five years of experience teaching English and persuasive writing at the middle school and high school levels, and have also coached competitive middle school and high school Speech and Debate for nearly 10 years, where I have helped many students qualify for, compete at, and rank highly at the state and national level.

Prior to class each week, students will be asked to:
1. Read a pre-selected text (provided in the classroom)
2. Answer text-dependent question(s)
3. Create their own text-dependent question(s)

While I will not be giving written feedback on students' work on text-dependent questions, it is imperative that students complete these prior to class each week so that they are fully prepared to participate in the Socratic Seminar.

55 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.