Teaching and inspiring students via online home school has been one of my most enjoyable and challenging callings to date. True education requires not only knowing the material but also students needs.

Hello! I am Alexandra Dascalu Nelson. I have been teaching online and tutoring for the last five years, privately and through Scholars Online. I hail from a homeschool background, having attended classes both at the local community college, Santa Monica College and through Laurel Springs Online. I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature. I then attended Pratt Institute in New York and received a Masters of Science in Information and Library Science. I studied French both personally (via travel) and through academic instruction during these years. Currently, I am working towards a Teaching Online certificate through the University of California, San Diego.

I enjoy introducing students to novels that have a deeper subtext, that are applicable to the inevitable transitions during their teenage years and, in some cases, an awareness to social structures in the world at large. I hope to teach students that reading is a boundless reserve for these topics, and by encountering them through others voiced and words, they are given food for thought and a new angle by which to consider the information. I therefore prefer to hear what the students have gleaned from the text before offering ideas and opinions from my research. This method also allows me to understand the assigned reading from my students perspectives and let’s them know that their thoughts are equally as important to the class discussion as my notes.

Lastly, I see parents as holding an important role in the academic life of their children. Teachers can set the standards for class, the reading and assignments, but at home, the parents are motivators and can help keep the the student focused. For this reason, I like to build relationships with parents, communicating often and keep them aware of their child’s progress in the class.

I have held many different occupations but have found teaching to be the most enjoyable and rewarding thus far. I currently live in Northern California, with my husband and our Blue Heeler, Tsuki.

Email: a.e.dascalu@gmail.com