Hello! My name is Wendy Linton, and I graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education in 2011 and have been educating young minds ever since. I have teaching certifications in early childhood education, elementary education, special education, and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.) I taught in the public school system for 4 years where I worked with PreK-5th grade students in both the general and special education classrooms, teaching reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. In 2015, I ventured into the world of online education where I've been teaching English to students in China between the ages of 3-15. I fell in love with the virtual classroom setting, as I am able to meet so many children and families from across the world and build amazing relationships with so many of my students! 

I have a passion for sharing my love of children's literature as well as teaching children to be good writers. I love exploring different comprehension strategies to help children make better meaning of books they are reading. When children learn how to use these reading strategies, they are able to enjoy so many wonderful books of different genres and really develop a love of reading. I believe that writing is an essential skill that will help students express themselves throughout their school years and beyond. I love teaching students how to develop this skill by providing lessons on topics such as the writing process, figurative language, and the different types of writing. I look forward to exploring these topics with your learners and many more such as phonics & phonemic awareness, sight words, social skills, fun facts about animals, and even some super fun baking classes!

One of my favorite quotes is: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." ~Nelson Mandela. I believe that children of all abilities can learn; it is my job to differentiate instruction for them and celebrate their individual victories along the way! I’m a firm believer that incorporating students’ interests into my lessons is one of the best strategies to ensure student engagement and ultimately student success. This is what really attracts me to the Outschool platform, not only does it provide me with the opportunity to be creative and teach classes based on topics I am passionate about and most experienced with—it provides learners with the opportunity to choose classes that peak their interests and support a love of learning! I LOVE that Outschool doesn’t conform to a one-size-fits-all approach to learning and I am very excited to be a part of this online learning community!   

When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time at home with my son, Ikem, and my dog, Dexter. A fun fact about me is that my guilty pleasure is watching reality TV shows!