Danielle Surico
About
My name is Danielle Surico and I am an avid learner, ferocious reader, passionate teacher, movie enthusiast (especially classic movies from the 1950s...Hitchcock, anyone?), and proud mom. I have spent the past ten years tutoring, working as a teaching assistant, working as a supplemental instructor, and currently working as an English Professor and Writing Instructor. To say I love teaching would be an understatement; teaching, for me, continues to be the most exceptional experience.
I returned to college when I was 31, and it was an absolute whirlwind of opportunities, leading me to receive a full academic scholarship to attend Columbia University. I was also granted the phenomenal opportunity to study abroad at Cambridge University in the UK for a summer. I know what education has provided me, both as a student and an individual, and my goal is to help open the world of possibilities to all of my students, regardless of their individual path's in life.
Though I primarily work with college students at the moment, I've also worked at the Kumon tutoring center, and spent many years tutoring elementary and high school age students. Before returning to studies, I worked in a pre-school for four years, teaching the three-year old group.
Education is never a 'one size fits all' experience. I understand the necessity of adopting multiple varieties of tools in helping educate my students. College is no longer just for 18-22 year olds, and I have had many students in their 50's and 60's attempt to navigate our ever-evolving tech savvy world. With that being said, I use differing mediums of teaching, including: PowerPoints, documentaries, links to writing resources, print outs, blackboard discussions, audio recordings, etc.
The VARK method of teaching is the foundation for my teaching style. Some students are visual, others are hands on...no two students are alike, and therefore there will never be a 'perfect' syllabus. As the semester progresses I modify my syllabus to meet the student's needs. I also believe that measures of success should be subjective, based on the student's abilities.
I received a Bachelor's Degree in Literature from Columbia University ('14), and a Master's Degree in Literature from Queen's College ('16). I have worked as a tutor in the writing center on campus, as a private tutor for both elementary aged and high school aged students. Currently, I am an adjunct professor of English at Westchester Community College, and a Writing Instructor at Manhattanville College.
As previously stated, I believe in the VARK method, and absolutely stand by the notion that classes must meet the recommended standards, while being suited to the student's abilities and obstacles.
Recommended Student Texts:
They Say, I say
The Little Seagull Handbook
Owl at Purdue website for MLA and APA formatting
I utilize varying texts in my courses, ranging from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream," speech, to "Lesson of Lifetime," discussing Jane Elliot's brown eye/blue eye experiment, to "38 Who Saw Murder," about the Kitty Genovese tragedy--and then showing them the information gathered and the lack of validity presented in the article featured in The New York Times, to numerous TedTalks.