My name is Ms. Amanda and I am one of the lead ELA and math instructors for pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade here at Tip-Top Brain. In my free time, I enjoy exploring the city, spending time with my family and heading to the beach in the Summer. In my path to become an educator, I have been inspired by all the different professionals I have met in the field. From teachers currently working in schools, to my professors, to the children I work with, each individual has given me motivation to pursue education. As a person who loves to focus on socioemotional health and well-being, I hope to bring a sense of joy for learning to each student who comes through the door!
I am currently a senior at Hunter College (CUNY), set to graduate Spring 2022. I am a double major in Early Childhood Education and Developmental Psychology. After graduating from Hunter College, I plan to continue my academic career by pursuing my master’s degree in Education Policy. Going into college, my initial major was solely on psychology, with hopes of pursuing research in youth mental health. Working as an after school instructor, I became more and more sure that I wanted to start my career as an educator and added that as my second major. Right before working for Tip-Top Brain, I was a Summer Teaching Fellow with Uncommon Charter Schools working in Elementary Education. During that fellowship, I was given opportunities to teach lessons in front of 4th grade students and develop my professional skills to better myself as a future educator. Throughout this fellowship, I worked a lot with creating and internalizing lesson plans. It was in this fellowship that my passion for working with educational policy was solidified. As I continue to work towards my goals, I want to shine a new light onto educational policy to continue to help close the achievement gap, while bringing new aspects of socioemotional health into curriculum design. My goal is for students to feel confident and in control of their learning, without feeling as though their goals are unattainable because of their background or hometown.
Working at Tip-Top Brain, the environment is always positive and invites challenge to both the students and the teachers. This has not only pushed the students to work harder, but has also pushed me to become a better educator to create a warm and engaging classroom. There is nothing better than the feeling of being able to help a student understand a new concept and watch them implement their knowledge into their work. The feedback system that has been implemented within Tip-Top Brain is also one major factor of growth. Being able to give constant feedback helps me to better prepare instruction for students, but the feedback does not stop there. As someone who is still growing, the feedback given to me helps me recognize areas of strength and weakness to better myself. I am excited to continue working at Tip-Top Brain and positively help each and every student that walks through our doors!
