Ilene L.

Although I am a Native New Yorker, I was primarily raised in Philadelphia. I was also fortunate to reside in London, Denmark, Arizona, and California. I graduated from NYU Magna Cum Laude with an individualized major that combined Classics, English, and Theatre. I had a minor in history. I was the recipient of NYU’s Founder’s Day Academic Award. During my years at NYU, I was a research assistant for the Margaret Sanger Papers. In addition, I have studied and taught five languages and am a published poet. In NYC, I co-wrote an Off Broadway play as well as a musical revue. I attended AMDA for musical theatre training as I began my teaching career. I was also an editor for a fashion book and provided Latin translations for a Charlene Harris novel. In addition, I co-wrote a family film that was a semi-finalist in the Austin Film Festival. In my spare time, I love to explore new places, work on my novel, and spend time with my daughter.

I have taught in schools in NYC, AZ, and CA. I taught at The Harvard-Westlake School and created curriculum for a course, co-founded the chapter of JCL, and organized field trips to the Getty. I taught a UCLA Latin summer extension course as well. I left formal classroom teaching in Los Angeles when an opportunity to travel to Ireland and write and live in Denmark became available. I have tutored in Latin, English, and History for over 25 years and successfully helped students with their college essays and law school personal statements for 20 years. My areas of academic expertise include tutoring Latin, English, and History through post-AP courses and I have even tutored individuals for college level courses.

I find it especially rewarding to create Latin lessons and even curriculum for different learning styles and adjust teaching techniques accordingly. I may teach grammar with songs for auditory learners for example or create new worksheets for students who prefer more traditional methods. I’ve been known as a teacher to provide games such as Red Light Green Light in Latin, Mad Libs in Latin, and instruct students in role playing during an extensive Roman Banquet as creative ways to teach grammar points. I don’t believe that Latin is a “dead” language at all and want to inspire a love of the Latin language and literature. I truly believe every student is capable of not only learning the Latin language, but also enjoying it as well. I feel similarly about instilling a love for literature and want to help young writers find their unique voice.