Professional

Curriculum Vitae

Alta is an entrepreneur who homeschooled her lively children with excellent results, leading them to achieve tertiary education. Drawing on her twenty years of experience, she continues to assist many other homeschooling families, as well as those in public and private schools. She possesses exceptional talents in teaching students of all levels to excel in music, writing, critical thinking, and social skills, while nurturing their love for learning and inspiring them to succeed.

• Bachelor’s degree in Music
• IEW Certified-level Instructor
• Lost Tools of Writing - Levels 1, 2, and 3
• National Geographic Educator
• Iditarod Certified Educator
• TEFL/TESOL Level 5 Instructor

In 2023, Alta completed a post-grad diploma in learning disabilities at Seattle Pacific University.

UNISA

Bachelor’s degree in Music

With a specialization in African Music Composition and Musicology I earned this four year degree amidst teaching my children and relocating several times.  I enhanced my knowledge by extending this degree beyond music with the following tertiary level studies:

• English for Academic Purposes
• Foundations of English Literary Studies
• Information Skills for the 21st Century
• Developing Information Skills for Lifelong Learning
• Psychology of Human Development
• Human Development: Child and Adolescent Development
• Human Development: Adulthood to Maturity
• Personality Theories
• Critical Reasoning
• African Archaeology I & II
• Archaeological Fieldwork techniques and analytical methods

INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING

IEW Certified-level Instructor

I am a Certified-level IEW Instructor that used this methodology at university while complete a degree in music. Fitness and practical skill that I gained through using it for prime production sets me apart from many of the accredited teachers. My family used the IEW writing curriculum with success since 2008 with success. Since the departure of my students to university themselves, I have taught countless students all over the word. Two of my students opted to become IEW teachers themselves.

Since the early 2000s I authored several curricula that can be used successfully with this methodology but is best suited for a Writing-Across-The-Curriculum approach

LOST TOOLS OF WRITING

Completed Training Levels 1, 2, and 3

Available from the Circe Institute, Lost Tools of Writing enhances classical rhetoric skills and teaches the art of writing persuasively. The three levels of study guides students to mastery in writing cohesive and solid paragraphs that are rock solid. For parents and students that subscribe to Classical Conversations and who are in Challenge I, this writing curriculum supersedes the lower-level years where IEW formed the foundational skills.

After meeting Andrew Kern at a FPEA conference, I embarked on completing the teacher training for Lost Tools. I completed the teacher training for this curriculum. Although I have a keen interest in classical rhetoric, mimetic teaching, and critical thinking skills there were other avenues that I chose to accomplish my goals instead of completing their Apprenticeship. I have mentored discerning students successfully through this program and use techniques that I mastered here in my best-of-breed approach for all writing instruction.

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Multple Courses for Educators

National Geographic offer teaching frameworks that allow me to harness the innate abilities, creativity, and interest of my diverse student demographic. Learning about best practices for engaging students with empathy and using problems in their environment that require solutions, I aspire to build bridges to understanding, harness their knowledge, and inspire students to make a difference in their communities. Regional and global expansion may well be their next tier. Fantastic resources and support of the best modern-day explorers in the world facilitates remarkable learning and teaching opportunities. I use the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of Ernest Shackleton to inspire high school level students and teach them the importance of Antarctica, while middle-school students learn about the Arctic, and elementary-level students investigate animals that have real jobs.

• Developing a National Geographic Explorer Mindset with Your Learners
• Applying Geographic Thinking Skills with Your Learners
• Teaching Global Climate Change in Your Classroom
• Why, How, and When: Introduction to Storytelling
• Storytelling through Infographics

IDITAROD

Iditarod Certified Educator

This certification was awarded to me and twenty-one fellow teachers in 2022 by the Iditarod® Committee Education Department.

Preserving traditional Alaska Native lifestyles as envisioned by Joe Reddington, the committee hosts a long-distance sled-dog event annually. Dog-sled racing is the state sport of Alaska and there are many hosted events on the adventure calendar. The Iditarod® is the longest event of its kind and celebrated its fiftieth year during 2022. All animal events are under scrutiny of some organizations that oppose the practice working animals. This is no exception, but the naysayers clearly have no interest in people lifestyle and transport remained unchanged for millennia and are still the only eco-friendly option. Classes offered here strive to focus on the geography, ecology, history, traditions, sports, and cultures of Arctic Natives.

The passion for the arctic dates back to when I was quite young. Living in Africa, I had a poster on my bedroom wall with an inscription 'Land of the Midnight Sun' and a breathtaking photograph of the Denali. I did not know then that I will visit this territory much later in life and fall for it hook, line and sinker! Alaska in winter is one of my favorite places to visit. Dog sledding is a pastime that I highly value and recommend. In a fragmented society with many distractions, this pursuit keeps you connected with your dog team and submerged in nature. You can only be in the moment. I authored a curriculum about the territory, its people, and their traditions. Expanding it to cover the more of the Arctic and teaching the effects of climate change, I inspire students to care about their environment and expand their thinking to a regional and global level. This writing class includes mapping activities, human and physical geography, mathematics, ventures into geophysics, local traditions, lifestyle, and much more. Students discover facts through careful guidance of how to conduct research that they use to write compositions tailored with intent for a specific audience and purpose.

TEFL/TESOL

Level 5 Instructor

This Scottish company is the world leader in training and providing services for teachers who work with second language learners from an academic and cultural perspective. With their TESOL/TESL/TEFL courses, they provide professionals with proven techniques and useful skills to teach English to anyone. Training for online, in-person, and telephone-based classes helped many learners master the intricacies of the English language and propelled teachers to become more confident in their abilities.

Completing the training at the highest teaching level, I am positioned to help students who are second language learners to thrive. The cultural training that is integrated in this training benefitted me to host classes seamlessly and comfortably for students from around the globe.