Meet the Teachers
Signup for Classes
Registration opens on Monday, March 15, 2010
12:00 noon EST
Julie Bogart
Julie is responsible for the creation of the classes Brave Writer offers and has trained all instructors according to the Brave Writer philosophy. To read more about Julie’s background, please visit her bio page.
Susanne Barrett
Susanne Barrett has homeschooled her four children since 1997 and joined the Brave Writer team in 2002. She earned a BA in Literature and a Master of Arts in English before teaching freshman composition, German, and ancient/medieval literature at the university level. Susanne has taught writing courses for junior high and high school students at her co-op for the past ten years and now teaches Intermediate and Advanced (Honors) Composition. In addition to co-publishing a collection of academic essays, Susanne’s poetry has been published in various venues. She is currently writing a novel and a non-fiction work of theology. Susanne also provided the expertise to write Brave Writer’s Slingshot issues, particularly the poetry selections and analysis.
Rachel Boyer
Besides teaching her own six children at home for ten years, Rachel Boyer has taught high school English and German, edited a national children’s news magazine, privately tutored writers of all ages, and worked for many years as a substitute teacher. Rachel began with Brave Writer as a student in the first online class in 2000. She quickly demonstrated her prowess as both a writer and homeschooling mother, and became the first instructor to join our staff. She can’t decide which is more fun—seeing the light come on in a young writer’s eyes or saying “I told you so” when former vehemently-reluctant writers earn A’s on their college essays. After working with hundreds of kids, she is still in awe of their creativity and uniqueness.
Rita Cevasco
Rita has her Master’s of Arts degree in Speech and Language therapy with 24 years of diagnostic and therapeutic experience. Her private practice began in 1995 and she specializes in working with children (from all school settings) with weak language skills, including reading and writing weaknesses. She home schooled her three children for 5 years, while also teaching literary discussion groups for junior and senior high homeschooled students. She currently helps local homeschool families develop comprehensive homeschool programs to meet their children’s individual needs, as well as provides private speech and language therapy. Rita joined the Brave Writer team in 2004, revolutionizing how parents understand the power of copywork, dictation and freewriting in developing a robust writing and language arts program.
Christine Gable
Christine Gable is a professional writer and recipe developer whose work has appeared in numerous periodicals. A weekly columnist for CDKitchen, she regularly writes for national magazines and corporate clients. Christine became a member of the Brave Writer team in 2007 and enjoys teaching the Kidswrite Basic class, in addition to creating and teaching the Nature Journaling and Hand-Holders classes. She is also creator of Queen of the Quick Meal, launching in November 2009: 20-minute meals with what’s on hand at www.quickmealhelp.com. With ten years of homeschooling experience, Christine lives with her husband Scott and their two children, Adrian and Jenny, in PA. When not writing, researching or developing recipes, she likes to read, hike, ride bike and hang out with family and friends.
Jean Hall
Jean started writing professionally at Midwestern State University, working as a newspaper reporter and literary magazine editor. She also taught English to non-native speakers at MSU’s Intensive English Language Institute. After graduation, she switched to part-time work as a substitute teacher and then freelance journalism to stay home with her growing family. She and her husband, Jim, have homeschooled their children since birth (10 years). Now aged 15, 12 and 10, they continue to amaze her and lead her into new adventures. Currently, she channels her enthusiasm for writing into blogging, leading writing classes for local homeschoolers, and teaching for Brave Writer (she began in 2007).
Becky Parker
Our most recent Brave Writer team member, Becky Parker, has homeschooled her own children since 1993. Her B.A. in English and enthusiasm for literature and learning motivate her to teach literature and writing in the homeschool co-op that she co-founded in 1995. In addition to regular classes at co-op, she leads monthly book discussions with both middle schoolers and high schoolers. Becky’s enjoyment of interpreting literature has also prompted her to direct several plays for her community. A published writer, she continues to read, teach, and write; to take a grad school class every now and then; and to teach English conversation classes for internationals. She also enjoys playing games, watching birds, cooking, and driving her red tractor!
Rachel Ramer
Rachel Ramer is a freelance writer whose numerous articles have appeared in several national publications. She currently teaches English composition at a local university in addition to being a writing instructor for Brave Writer since 2001. She has a B.A. in English and is working towards a Master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition. Rachel is expert at teaching Brave Writer’s Expository Essay and Kidswrite Intermediate classes. Rachel educated her children at home for eight years. She lives in eastern Indiana with her husband and their three boys.
