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Active - Public

When I work on any subject I always amend to the student's request adhering to all guidelines and ensure I meet my student's and his/her parents expectations on this and make my student achieve the best grade possible because that is my objective. That is my promise to my students.
         I am experienced (5 years) in homeschool tutoring. I mostly work with Florida Virtual School students. I overlook their tests and assignments, and help them with preparations of guided notes to prepare for Discussion Based Assessmemts (DBA). I also help parents to obtain required annual evaluations and how to sign up with home education with county school department.
For my tutoring sessions I use skills that include goal-directedness;   I teach how to organize learning in small steps and how to set them up for the best results; I always strive to motivate and engage my students to make them interested in learning and have fun; I also use self-control skills  to teach how to avoid distractions and I show how to use different focusing strategies. I use positive mind set skills to teach how to use failures as learning opportunities. 

I have Masters in Education (2018) with specialization in English Curriculum and Instruction; and Masters in Arts (2012) in Teaching English to speakers of other languages, and Bachelors in Music Education (2010), both from Florida Atlantic University, as well as a degree in violin performance from Chicago.
I studied piano in Chicago for 10 years & taught both piano & violin for over 20 years. I also teach flute & cello for the past 5 years, as I studied them during my Music Education program. 
I have taught music for over 24 years using the traditional and Suzuki methods. I am fan of the Essential Elements method and I Can Read Music book for string instruments,  and the Alfred's Piano Library with Fingerpower books for piano. Alfred's piano library can be used for any age as they also have books especially written for adult learners. I also like their music flash cards.
For teaching music theory I mostly used Fundamentals of Piano Theory (9 levels) combined with Master Theory (6 levels) books.

I personalize every lesson, and always set goals for my students. Most of my violin students are members of the Florida Youth Orchestra as well as the Gold Coast Youth Orchestra and my piano students participate in Pompano Beach Piano competition and the annual Piano Guild auditions.
I teach any age and any level and most of academic subjects, and always stress that learning a new instrument is very similar to learning a new language, it needs a lot of patience, persistence and repetitions. I stress to all my students that practice brings progress and this is nost important in any studies.
My lessons are customized to my student's needs, and are work in progress as they needs may change over time. I always remind my students that music can give them instant gratification when they learn to play favorite songs.
I always encourage my students to tell me about their music preferences, so I can incorporate them in their music lessons.
I always do reviews, as this the best way to know what you still need to learn. I teach test taking skills for ACT, SAT, GRE and PSAT, and SSAT, and prepare my students to take auditions

*** Lesson Details ***
All my tutoring sessions include reviews of previously learned material and if possible the use of technology. I use students books but often bring extra study materials if necessary.
All my lessons include technique and reading music. I like to use the Finger Power for piano students and Essential Elements for my string students, and scales for both.
Music theory: I use Master Theory and Fundamentals of Piano Theory books for younger ages, Alfred's music flash cards to support learning notes and musical terminology, and of course the fun part performance. 

Besides Essential Elements for strings I also use String Tunes  and I Can Read Music to add more fun to the lessons as well as support reading music during the lesson. For piano students I use Holiday Treats book, which comes in 2 different levels: Beginner & Intermediate, so my students have a new songs for a specific holiday.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I always bring violin with me to be able to show what I teach.

*** Travel Equipment ***
The students need to have their books and assigned material ready for tutoring. Instrumental students needs to have their music books, flashcards & instrument available as well as a pencil. I always stress with my students to be organized and prepared for their lesson, this way they will be able to focus better during the lesson. I always bring my violin with me. I also ask that the room where the lesson takes place be free of any distractions, such other siblings or any other noise. The quiet environment helps in faster learning.

*** Specialties ***
I tutor most K-12 subjects and prepare students to take ACT, SAT, GRE tests.
Music genres: Classical, traditional, Suzuki, Popular, Celtic, fiddle, Blues

SAT reading comprehension

Violin

Music Performance

History

Math

Spelling

ACT Test Prep

Study Skills

Classical Piano

ACT Math

Piano

Grammar

Fiddle

Basic Math

English

Geometry

Science

Creative Writing

TOEFL

ACT English

SSAT

Language

Pre Algebra

Reading

Polish

American Literature

Essay Writing

Composition

Algebra 1

Vocabulary

Viola

Algebra

English (ESL)

Public Speaking

ACT Reading

Test Prep

Writing

Audition Prep

Music Theory

Flute

Cello

Elementary Math

Suzuki Method

Common Core English

Common Core Math

Middle School

High School

College

Founded in 1907, NAfME is among the world’s largest arts education organizations. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers.

Our primary function is to establish definite goals and awards--in noncompetitive auditions--for students of all levels, from the earliest beginner to the gifted prodigy. 

mentoring a new memeber

Piano Teacher

My students participate in annual auditions

Piano teacher

TESOL

This certification came with my BA degree in Music Education

Music Education

I usually use beginner methods and solo pieces

Music Teacher

I start with the beginning skills on Essential Elements and then use fiddle methods

Music teacher

piano and violin students elementary through college age

Teaching English to speakers of other languaged

ESL Teacher

Teaching English as a second language to college age student, and remedial reading and writing classes.

ESL Adjunct Instructor

Tutoring most academic subjects K-12. I always personalize my lessons to meet the specific needs of my students. I test my students periodically to monitor their progress and modify used material if needed.

Academic private tutor & music instructore on violin, piano and flute

Substitute Teacher

I teach K 12 subjects and college level reading, writing and math. I prepare each lesson and personalize it for each student to make sure that all their needs are being met. I periodically test my students to monitor their progress and modify learnig lessons if necessary.

Academic Instructor

I taught English to Italian students age 13-18, based on a given curriculum, and create sub lessons. I also helped in the office with Google Docs to create supporting materials for each lesson.

ESL Instructor

I teach every level and prepare students to take ACT, SAT, GRE tests. I always strive to motivate and engage my students to make the learning interesting and fun. 

All my tutoring sessions include reviews of previously learned material and if possible the use of technology. I use students books but often bring extra study materials if necessary.

Had her over a year as my first violin teacher, huge mistake and waste time and money.
To start she's overall she was very mean to me and she NEVER showed up on time to a single lesson. Between 30 minutes and an hour late EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

More importantly, while she can play violin very well, she does not understand what is important for a beginner to learn. She doesn't care about tone or musicality, she only cares about playing difficult pieces. 
She will take beautiful pieces of music and butcher it by artificially making it more difficult (adding slurs, ridiculous positions, and harmonics.) This made it very demoralizing to play as nothing I ever played sounded as intended. It doesn't matter how bad your tone or phrasing was, if you hit the right notes, she believed you should move on. This resulted in her asking me to play pieces that were greatly above my skill level.

One of the most frustrating parts of having her as a teacher is the wildly inconsistent lessons. In one lesson, she will ask me to practice 3 different pieces. In the following lessons, we cover none of it and instead asks me to perform some pieces from a lesson a few weeks ago. As it was not prepared I would naturally have difficulty playing it to tempo, and she would assume I didn't practice, despite me being very dedicated to the instrument and practicing daily. In addition, she insists on playing with you the entire time, and never watches you play by yourself, which honestly makes no sense and forces you to play at her tempo.

I've found a new teacher who focuses more on sound quality and phrasing and it has been far more enjoyable of an experience. My overall tone has greatly improved and I understand the phrasing of the beginner classical pieces far better.


I've had probably over 50 lessons with her, so I'll give you an overview on what each lesson will go like:
1) She will arrive late
2) She asks you to play some scales and arpeggios, but if you can't do 16 notes a bow stroke as a beginner while shifting positions, she will get mad at you
3) She will take some random pieces that you haven't practiced in weeks and insist that "we practiced it the other week" and then get mad when you can't play it to HER tempo
4) She will pick a new piece to play, but spend 5-10 minutes making it more difficult by adding slurs where they don't belong, higher positions for no reason, and harmonics because why not, regardless of the intended musicality of the piece

And the worst part is, she refuses to listen to your concerns. I've mentioned all this to her and she doesn't care, insisting that she knows better. I've talked to several other violin teachers since our departure and they all agree her teaching method is terrible for beginners.

She may be a suitable teacher for an advanced student, but if you are a beginner or even intermediate, do not waste your money.

Made an appointment for 4pm. Ordered all the books she requested. Showed up for my appointment 10minutes before 4 and she did not answer me. I called her and message her and nothing. at 4:15 she finally called saying she would be 5minutes late. I told her I wasn't going to wait and I'd be going home. She said she was still going to charge me, even tho she was 20minutes late to out 4pm appointment. I called customer service and got it solved but her punctuality and her way of treating clients is horrible. How dare she still try to charge me even tho she never showed up? If the first appointment she didn't show, I can't imagine what the others would of been like. Wasted my gas and time.

Ilona is very rude does not care what comes out of her mouth, very insulting and putting down people. She insulted me to my face and behind my back to my daughter. Not professional at all. She does not know what she is doing in writing, auditioning, lighting, photography. She did not follow the instructions given from my daughter's Hollywood Agents that was submitting my daughter for a role. She argued about doing it her way. She has bugs all in her car, it infested and they were as well on her. I had to sterilize everything when she left. I asked her several times to leave and she would not. I called the Agency on the spot and they had left for the day but I left them voicemails and immediately whiles she was at my home, wrote them an email. I did not want to argue with her infront of my daughter. When she was leaving she hit a sign in my development and did not care. My neighbors witnessed all of this. I called Take Lessons right away Monday morning and I was told my Michael in Support along with two other of his colleagues that I would receive a refund. I don't do things like this, but this was unethical and Take Lessons did not keep their word to me. They told me that they got her side of the story and pretty much they were keeping the money. Highly unethical. I was in shock because they are okay with how this lady was yelling at my daughter and I and the unsanitary way she entered my home when her car and herself is infested with bugs. I took pics and gave it to Take Lesson and they don't care, they just want their money. My daughter's agents were highly disappointed and encouraged me to use You Tube or free workshops as well as paid if they are not too much. Any Agency that is serious about you will not advise to go spend money. I am so sorry I have to write this review because I don't like to cripple people's reputation or company. But if they would of told me from the beginning that I will not get refunded then that was their word, but it is not what happened. Most horrible experience.

I am finally learning how to play the violin and read music. Ilona is a great teacher, very patient and friendly.

I'm sorry, I cannot handle this Instructor for my children.  She wasn't me but she's not quite the people person I expected.  Her personality is not a good match for a high school tutor. Unfortunately her English is not good enough.  Her accent is entirely too strong.  Also she does not know enough Geometry to help my kids.

Ilona is a wonderful teacher. She really tunes in to your level and has a vast knowledge of musical repertoire making lessons very exciting.  Anyone lucky enough to get Ilona is going to be star!!she is patient and responsive to questions and a very interesting and fun gal

Experienced, knowledgable and persistent in teaching. I did not think I will be able to learn fast, but Ilona helps in every step. From holding the bow rightly, to using fingers, learning the language of music, she is patient and persistent. I recommend her without reservation..

wonderful  and fulfilling! I enjoyed learning and will continue. 
Ilona very patient and makes learning fun .

Ilona is very nice and very knowledgeable. I look forward to learning a great deal from her.

She is very professional, helpful, thorough and efficient.  Knows her stuff!

My daughter loves her, and she is learning so much!

She's Really Good. Takes You Through Step By Step. And Gives Memorization Practice. She's The Teacher You Want To Be With.

I highly recommend Miss. Ilona! 

My 10 year old boy/girl twins have had lessons with Miss. Ilona for several months. Miss. Ilona, who is classically trained, not only keeps a nice balance between theory and performance, but also accommodates my twins' interests in contemporary music by helping them with their Spring Choral Concert music. 

Every teacher has a point of view, personal preferences, and methodological bias that may fit one child but may not fit another child as well. Miss. Ilona, however, constantly leaves her doors open to communicate and listen, and make an effort to understand how my twins feel about the lesson material. She constantly adapts the material and tries new approaches to make them better violinists.  

What I like most about Miss. Ilona is that she is willing to provide her students with opportunities to participate in Fund Raising and charity events by donating their musical talents. This allows her students to give back to the community what they have learned. On April 17, 2015 my twins performed at Theosophical Society Fund Raising at Deerfield Beach. On May 30, 2015, they performed at Children’s Oasis International Fund Raising to "enable today youth be tomorrow's leaders” in Africa.  

After those events, my son wrote in his essay, “What matters to me most is to make people happy by doing what I enjoy doing…… While we played, the audience was very happy and cheered us after each song. It really made us feel so good…… After the performance, many people came to us and thanked us to play music for them. It really made us feel appreciated and so special.  When I hear people saying they raised a lot more money thanks to us, I feel so blessed. I am proud that I can make difference by doing what I enjoy doing……special thanks to my violin teacher, Miss. Ilona and my twin sister." 

As Hillary Clinton said, "...it takes a village to raise a child (the traditional African proverb)" during her own presidential compaign during 2007, it seems to Miss. Ilona, raising a musical child is a collaborative business, a business that the teacher, the student and the parents have to run together in order to be successful. Collaborative decision making with a child requires a willingness to listen, negotiate and compromise. As Jessica Turner (music educator) argues music instructors know about teaching music, but when it comes to your child and how s/he learns, we parents are the expert. As an educator myself, I appreciate that Miss. Ilona lets me work together with her to ensure the fit and quality of my twins musical instruction. I feel fortunate that we have found such a great instructor for my twins!

SAT Math Tips

This video will give 10 strategies in 2 parts, for the SAT reading comprehension and how to manage your time when answering SAT reading questions .

SAT reading comprehension - SAT Class

About Ilona M.

Class reviews

Ilona's SAT videos

SAT Math Tips

SAT Reading Comprehensions Strategies Part 1

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