Subjects
- Primary & Secondary age
- Drawing, painting, emotional expression
- Maths / English up to GCSE
- Biology to A level
- Spanish / German to A level
- other subjects by request eg music theory, animal care, planting vegetables. Please ask.
I can get any child to learn and enjoy doing it. One of my passions is encouraging children to embrace and express their creativity. Creativity for me means the unique individual way of doing things. Anything, not just painting or dance. I have been working with children since I was a teenager – first tutoring special needs children who “couldn’t” learn, and later working directly with them and their parents.
Our 10 year old daughter was hyper and very distant. She was also dyslexic. Since having 3 lessons with Mira, she is confident, balanced, energized and at peace in herself. The most remarkable thing is that in 3 weeks her writing and reading difficulties have improved dramatically. She has even started reading on her own for fun. Before she had to be forced to read and write, yet since her tutoring she loves it and does it. Not only are we and Maria’s schoolteacher surprised, but Maria is also surprised by this fast change, and is still wondering what happened. The dyslexia is gone. We thought it was incurable.
Not all my work with children is that dramatic, but they always improve beyond expectations. Most importantly they are happier in themselves.
Why I teach
I’m inspired by finding out where a child is most stuck and explaining things simply so that they can understand from their perspective. By empathising with the child I can find ways to connect and help them understand. Making things fun and connecting them to real-life examples that are easy to remember is my main style of teaching. I live on an organic farm so I can bring tortoises and vegetables to the computer screen.
Curiosity and passion are more important than grades in my view and lead to integrated growth as a rounded compassionate human. Happy children are healthy and find their own way into life.
If you like labels my approach is probably closest to Rudolf Steiner´s, in that I focus on a child´s joy, curiosity, and natural strengths, and encourage them to grow from their innate center. This creates confidence, self-worth, and exploration, which leads to learning and determination to pursue interesting avenues that lead to worthwhile careers.
How I teach
Teaching is online by skype or zoom. Lessons are 1 hour long, usually one subject at a time. I am kinaesthetic so I understand if your child needs to get up and move – we can include this in the teaching. As a therapeutic dance teacher, I really understand that it’s hard to sit still.
I can tutor your child in several subjects, and I also teach other subjects by request. I am a ‘cellist, dancer, meditate, and plant and animal lover; I have lived in the UK, Germany, Spain, Mexico, India, and Indonesia and speak 6 languages. I am patient and very gentle. I am an all-rounder or renaissance woman, which in these days of specialising is not so common… it helps me relate to a wide range of children.
How I became a teacher
I became a tutor by teaching myself maths. Whilst failing at school at aged 9 my primary school teacher wrote me off as stupid. But she simply didn’t know how to teach maths! She told me I was incapable and would never amount to anything. She was so misguided and unperceptive. I was highly sensitive and I couldn’t hear her speak above the noise in the classroom. So I taught myself in my spare time and then got a tutor to get into private school. They accepted me a year early with a scholarship.
From Failure to A Student
I started tutoring at age 14 to teach the girls in my younger sister’s class science because none of them understood the way it was being taught. As a full-time in-demand teacher in my lunch breaks, one thing lead to another. On leaving school I taught English, Maths, Sciences, and Spanish to children aged 9-18 both privately and for a tutoring agency. All the children predicted to fail have got A grades which really opened my mind. I don’t find it surprising anymore – all children can learn when you figure out why they are stuck and what makes sense to them. I have always taught in some form, first children and then parents. This has included university students, other therapists, parents and people wanting to learn about nature. I just love sharing insights and empowering others.
At age 26 I got a grant from the British Council to do research with parents of street children in Mexico. Many of the children had severe learning difficulties like ADHD, fluid on the brain, emotional disturbances, and more. I found it very inspiring to find ways to help them learn and also to observe what it was about their parents that supported them or not. I wrote up this research as a paper that has informed my teaching and work with parents ever since.
I have experience and success with ADHD, dyslexia, Asperger’s, Tourettes, shyness and high sensitivity. I haven’t met a child I don’t get on with and certainly not one that can’t learn.
My Qualifications & Experience
- BA/MA from King’s College, Cambridge (1992) and an
- MSC in Development Studies from SOAS, London University. (1993)
- In 1994 I got a grant from the British Research Council to research and write a paper on Factors Affecting Cognitive Development in Mexican Street Children in Puebla, which I completed over the course of a year living in Mexico. It served as a template for educators at JUCONI (street children foundation) to improve their teaching and interaction with street children’s parents. It was my introduction to special needs and learning difficulties and has served me ever since.
- Officially started private tutoring for an agency in London (OC Tuition) in 1995 in a variety of subjects including maths, English, Spanish and sciences.
- 1995-97 taught undergraduates at London University (SOAS)
- Craniosacral Therapist specialised in trauma and high sensitivity. I have taken various trauma-related, baby, early infant and child development modules and trainings.
- Taught various workshops for Health Practitioners on Emotion, Relating to clients and High Sensitivity
- Qualified as a Family Constellation Therapist (2018) with Angelika Winkelhover) and also a
- I have studied teaching methods my whole life and applied them to working with struggling children and parents. I never stop learning about how to teach and how to resolve emotional and mental difficulties.
- I have recently completed my advanced training in Ancestral Clearing.
What the students say
Mira is a natural teacher. When i did my chemistry GCSE I understood very little in lessons at school. The evening before my exam Mira went through my folder with me and explained a lot of things in a way that made me understand them for the first time. I got an A in my exam. I think it would have been a D without her, and that was just 2 hours. Anything she can do she knows how to teach. She is good at explaining things clearly and comes at things from different angles until the lesson is understood. She is persistent and encouraging, inspiring and clear. She has a natural talent to relate to young people and I would highly recommend her as a tutor.
Book a Lesson
Parents
If you want to be more involved in your child’s learning or discuss their progress please have a look at the parenting support section. My love of supporting children includes facilitating more effective parenting by providing tools and information on what children need to thrive.
I offer sessions directly for parents which can greatly benefit your child’s development and happiness. If your child is struggling with academic work, please consider booking a session for yourself at some point. It will directly support their tutoring progress.