Mia D.

Samantha F.

Samantha began her love of teaching at 17 years old when she became a volunteer assistant in a primary classroom. After high school, she attended the University of Toronto where she studied philosophy, history, and sociology. After completing her undergraduate, she took a big leap and moved to South Korea where she became a full-time kindergarten teacher. Although she did not make it as a K-pop star in South Korea, she did come to realize that teaching is one of her biggest passions. After her year abroad she came back to Canada and decided to become an ELL teacher at a school downtown, teaching adult students coming to Canada to learn English. During this time, she also became a private tutor working with students ages 7-11 who attended schools in the TDSB. She worked with students who had different exceptionalities and it was through this job that she realized that teaching is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. After two years, she decided to take another big leap and complete her Master of Teaching at OISE, University of Toronto. Samantha is delighted to officially be an Ontario Certified Teacher. In her lessons, Samantha takes the time to get to know every individual student in order to create individualized plans that tap into the interests, passions, and needs of the learner. She loves to incorporate educational games, technology, art, and movement into her lessons in order to make the lessons more enjoyable, less rigid, and tap into multiple ways of learning. On her days off you can find Samantha watercolour painting, getting lost around the city, trying not to overwater her plants, and starting a new book before finishing the last one.

Ari S.

JONAH S.

JULIA S.

Julia is a passionate and enthusiast teacher. She a graduate of the Masters of Teaching at OISE. Julia is currently working with the TDSB as an occasional teacher. A Toronto native, Julia lived for seven years in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There she attended the University of King’s College and Dalhousie and graduated with First Class Honours in Theatre and English. Before pursuing her Masters, Julia worked in Theatre on both the administrative and creative side. Her favourite role was as director where she found immense joy in discovering the unique gifts and perspectives of every team member and fostering these gifts through collaboration and play. She finds this same joy in teaching; Julia loves the process of understanding her students and helping them see how they can extend their gifts to every subject. She rejects deficit-based thinking and believes academic growth is a matter of unlocking the inherent potential in each student. For her Masters, Julia is conducting research into successful and total inclusion of neurodivergent students and she is passionate about re-imagining how we support students with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities.

IAN R.

Ian grew up in Calgary, completing a BA and MA in Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, before moving to Toronto, where he completed his PhD at the University of Toronto’s Department for the Study of Religion in 2017. Along the way, Ian also studied Sanskrit at the University of Pune in India and worked for several years in the research department of a Bay Street financial services firm.
Ian has been teaching at the university-level since 2009, in the areas of Religion and History, most recently at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. He is passionate about teaching students to read, write, and, most importantly, think critically about the world around them. Seeing students master their course work is amazing; seeing students become effective, organized ,and dynamic young men and women is even better.
In his spare time, Ian enjoys reading spy novels, the occasional Netflix binge, running, playing basketball and coaching his twin boys’ baseball team.

ALEC M.

Alec is an Ontario-certified History/Social Sciences teacher and current M.A. History student at the University of Toronto. Before moving to Toronto, he completed his Bachelor of Education at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Grade 4-10 History. Before that, he graduated from Queen’s University in 2016 with an honour’s degree in History and World Religion. He began teaching ESL to students of all ages in 2016 while living in Europe. He speaks French and a little Spanish and loves learning new languages. He has taught Grade 3-4 Core French, Grade 7/8 Language Arts, History, and Health, and Grade 6/7 English Literacy in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). He also taught various subjects – primarily English, Social Studies, and Physical Education – from kindergarten to Grade 10 in the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE). In his spare time, he loves to play music with his siblings, especially guitar and bass. He also loves to play and coach basketball and is a huge Toronto Raptors fan. He has some suggestions for how the team could be improved but does not have the influence to secure a meeting with management. Since 2010, he has been a support worker for an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their family. What he loves most about teaching is seeing students gain confidence in themselves.

Tessa N.

Originally from Vancouver, Tessa came to Toronto to pursue studies in physics and mathematics at the University of Toronto. Now in the second last year of her degree, she is passionate about sharing the joys of scientific learning with students of all ages. With 5 years of private tutoring experience in her pocket, Tessa is dedicated to providing her students with high quality support through the use of personalized learning plans, stimulating regimens, and focus on strong foundations. Tessa has tutored high school students in mathematics, physics, English, and French, covering mathematics and physics into the university level. When she is not pouring over her physics homework, Tessa can be found going for long walks with her golden retriever and contemplating the philosophical implications of quantum field theory. Having worked as a lead instructor at PACE Summer Camps and a cycling teacher at Pedalheads in Vancouver, BC, Tessa has ample experience working with children aged 8-17 and hopes to inspire each student to unlock their potential and achieve success. Motivated by the notion that learning starts with believing in one’s own abilities, she is eager to help all students excel

Lander P-F.

Lander is an Ontario Certified Teacher who graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English, a Bachelor of Education, and Minor in Social Sciences from York University. Throughout his six-year undergraduate degree, Lander consistently worked within the education sector which included leadership roles in school field trips, and clay sculpture workshops. After work, Lander can typically be found in his apartment with his cat Ezra, watching a quality film. Lander is an individual who is passionate and dedicated to his teacher’s craft, and seeks to hone his skills alongside his students with an energetic and motivated personality – above all, Lander wants to see his students succeed.

Aiyana K.