We don't bite...hard.
Disclaimer: Don't worry. You will be taught by real people. Promise.
Our teachers pinpoint trouble spots, get to the root of the road block and clear the path so each student can get to understanding what and why they are learning.
We appreciate and respect students as individuals and provide the tools to actively think and apply knowledge to hurdle over academic and life obstacles.
And, we are phenomenal at motivating and engaging our students.
Jessica loves to teach. Teaching is her passion. It's her motivation. It's her inspiration. It's HER. This is why jessLEARN Inc. was created.
She’s the combination of book smarts and life skills.
Jess speaks English, French and Mandarin and translates fluidly between all three languages.
Having lost both parents when she was young, Jess had to juggle excelling in school while tackling adulthood and the real-world sooner than most.
Over the last 16 years, Jess has taught a variety of subjects including English - ESL - French - Math - Science - History - Geography - Piano and Music Theory. Did you notice Piano in there? She also has her ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music. You can listen to/watch her play here.
Jessica has set out to REVOLUTIONIZE EDUCATION. She makes sure that Millenials learn about themselves and the world in which they live, and carve out paths they're passionate and happy about. Most of all, she can’t wait to see the huge positive impacts and differences our students will make in the world.
Fun Fact:
Do you know what the smiling animal in the picture is called? If you do, can you spell it correctly? If you answered ‘no’ to either of these questions, come to jessLEARN to find out!
Alright, now a real fun fact:
Over the years, Jessica has chopped off and donated nearly 5 feet of hair to Locks of Love. Some of her students were even inspired to donate their own luscious locks. Pretty awesome.
Francesca is (a near-genius* who is) dedicated to helping her students succeed.
She began her teaching journey nearly a decade ago when she offered to help her classmates understand and complete schoolwork. It was then that she realized that she loved helping students get that 'light bulb moment' - that moment of clarity when students suddenly understand a concept that previously sounded like gibberish! Since then, she’s been inspired to guide her students and ensure they understand WHAT and WHY they learn what they do in school. Her teaching style is fluid - whether it’s teaching grade 1-12 students Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English or other subjects - she adapts seamlessly to fit the needs of every student.
Having graduated from a rigorous Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Program, she always does her best and finds new ways to improve and keep learning. She knows what it takes to succeed in tough courses with tough teachers. Sweat and tears are only part of the equation - studying effectively is another. More than that, she’s dedicated to empowering her students to achieve this same success. Francesca uses her experiences to motivate her students and guide them - to not only provide study techniques that work across multiple subjects but also promote the development of lasting life skills.
Francesca’s goal is simple - to inspire students to achieve theirs.
Fun Fact:
The Dachshund featured in Francesca's avatar is her very own pup, Cheeto! He is essentially like her son. He went to school, too, and graduated! (Doggie School – what did you think?) Francesca jokes that her dream is to have 20 Dachshunds. We aren't convinced that she's kidding.
*Editor's Note: Fran wanted this taken out, but Jess insisted that we keep it.
Teaching is very close to Sabina's heart. She has always been passionate about extending knowledge to the next generation and teaching at jessLEARN Inc. only fuels that passion.
Sabina has lived on 3 continents and has a world of experience to share. She became especially interested in the education system after studying in East Africa for almost 7 years. She has become a strong advocate for education and passes along her international experiences to expand the knowledge of all students.
Her teaching style is very simple: to approach students as a mentor instead of a usual ‘teacher’, and to truly know them individually. Sabina assesses each student’s needs and areas of improvement in order to hone in and improve their skills.
There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that the team effort put in by the student, the parents and Sabina pays off.
Fun Fact:
The most common question Sabina has been asked when people know that she has studied in East Africa is, “Did you ride a camel to school?” Everyone knows the answer is ‘no.’ But, we are reminded of the importance of knowing things in the world, outside of books. So, here is a delightful picture of a cute camel.
As a University of Toronto graduate, Shawn gained an extensive education in English studies, especially grammar, reading, writing and communication. He is an accomplished author with several publications in journals and magazines, among others.
Throughout school, Shawn was the go-to guy for classmates who needed help with English essays, tests and exams. Explaining and making sense of class concepts sparked Shawn's passion for learning and teaching.
Shawn’s drive to teach English is fuelled by his desire to correct misconceptions about English studies. From “Reading fiction won’t help me in life,” to “I’m never going to need to write essays in my job. This is useless,” Shawn addresses such misconceptions and aims to show how English teaches more than just where and when to use commas and semicolons (as important, and simple, as this can be). The lessons learned from English range from communication and critical thinking, to analysis and persuasion, and even basic human understanding and empathy.
In other words, Shawn firmly believes that English studies benefit students well beyond the classroom. It teaches lessons that shape rational thinkers, adept communicators and well-rounded citizens of our community.
Fun Fact:
Shawn prides himself on his ability to explain concepts to many different students in many different ways. He personalizes his teaching style because no two students are exactly the same, just as no two giraffes have the same spot pattern. The giraffe in Shawn’s avatar also bears a close resemblance to Shawn when he is concentrating!
On a personal note, Shawn is an experienced drummer, with many years of live, recording and touring experience.
Kelly is a Master of Teaching student at the University of Toronto who knew at a young age that teaching was her calling in life. Teaching comes naturally to her, and she enjoys sharing her knowledge, communicating with people and helping students realize for themselves that everyone is capable of doing well in Math.
Growing up in China, Kelly received rigorous Mathematical education. Unlike most of her peers who struggled in Math throughout elementary school and high school, Kelly achieved competitive, high scores in all areas of Math. Kelly began her teaching journey as a Peer Tutor to her classmates when she was appointed as a Teaching Assistant for her classes.
Kelly naturally combines her solid Math foundation with a student-oriented teaching approach. Kelly is extremely dedicated to the education of all learners, as she personalizes her lesson plans and classroom activities to the needs and abilities of each student.
Kelly's teaching philosophy is simple, but profound: those who find Math boring and difficult need only a teacher who can reveal to them its step-by-step logic and real-life, fascinating applications. Kelly also engages students in a learning environment that promotes interest and deeper learning. She is always proud of her students, not only for their academic improvement, but also for their persistence and hard work in the learning process. This is why she loves teaching at jessLEARN Inc., where serious study is always combined and executed with relevance and fun!
Fun Fact:
When students who are struggling in Math first meet Kelly, they look surprisingly similar to upset pandas. After being in Kelly's class (even once), they are encouraged by their progress which continues to grow day by day. Kelly's students can then do Math as easily as pandas eat bamboo!
Mina specializes in Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Toronto. He has been teaching Physics and Chemistry for nearly 5 years and takes pride in his students' high success. He understands that these subjects can be daunting to students and as such, Mina is passionate about breaking these barriers so that students are armed with the tools to confidently tackle Physics and Chemistry material, and exceed.
Mina believes that every student is unique and has the potential for greater success. As teachers, it is at the heart of our job to adapt our teaching methods to help students reach that potential. More importantly, as students, parents and educators, we must remember that greater learning happens outside the classroom. Science stems from the curiosity of how things work. This intuitive curiosity breeds a greater interest and desire to learn. Mina's goal is to ignite and rekindle this interest in analysis and problem solving, which are at the core of learning Sciences and Math.
Fun Fact:
Mina upholds the idea that Science and Arts go hand in hand. As he puts it, "I am not just a Scientist, I'm also an artist. Science is simply my medium."
Working with youth is what inspires and drives Kim. Almost all of her work, volunteer and extracurricular experiences revolve around working with youth on a local and global scale.
Since the age of 16, she has been steadily working towards helping others in any way she can. Kim has even traveled as far as Costa Rica and Nicaragua where she served disadvantaged communities for a short-term outreach program. This is where she discovered her desire to turn a culture of dependency into one of sustainability.
Kim sincerely believes in working as a collective community to create well-rounded individuals. She believes in a world where youth recognize their privileges and learn from real-life experiences. She strives to build a world where students not only gain knowledge and learn information, but also apply it in their daily lives. This real-life application of education means students can logically face adversity and solve problems head on.
Fun Fact:
The (sleepy) cat in Kim's avatar is none other than her beloved Marley! A true homebody, Marley stayed home while Kim made the leap to travel independently across 12 countries in only 10 months. She sees traveling as an alternate form of higher education and believes it is one of the greatest investments one can ever make.
Charles is an Economics student at the University of Western Ontario who has found his place at jessLEARN Inc. as an ambassador for the team’s vision to help as many students as possible. He has set out to spread the word about our mission to teach, mentor and advocate for students everywhere. And he does it all while being pun-ny! (We can’t help but laugh at his creative puns!)
Much of his extracurricular and volunteer experiences in the community involved working with charities and organizations devoted to health and education, as one of his lifelong goals is to consistently make personal contributions in supporting medical research and better education for future generations.
Charles loves what jessLEARN Inc. is doing for the world of education, as he believes everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and beyond. He advocates that although learning is a lifelong journey, the first step is to develop the skills needed to best learn.
Fun Fact:
Charles once worked with an organization in China to plant tree saplings in endangered ecosystems. The experience really stuck with him, as it made him realize how much more of the world we don’t see when we aren't really looking. He says that koala bears remind him of that event, as they were everywhere on the campaign posters.
Talk about high koala-ty advertisements!