Course Tutors
Check out the bios below for our great team of tutors for the Socratic Dialogue Online Program!
Our online program tutors are selected based on:
- experience and skills pertaining to tutoring using a Socratic approach
- post-secondary experience (completed Bachelor's degree preferred)
- their commitment to reflect WISDOM’s philosophy in their relationship with students and parents
- ability to work with and serve home schooling families and to fulfill the requirements of the program
It is desirable that tutors have home schooling in their background, as well as experience in the Classic tradition in their post-secondary education.
Anna has a PhD in social and ecological sustainability from the University of Waterloo and a master of arts in the interdisciplinary humanities from Trinity Western University. She has taught a wide variety of courses across a range of disciplines including philosophy, literature, and the sciences, and is excited about joining WISDOM in the fall!
In her spare time, Anna enjoys homebrewing, soccer, playing music, kayaking, and having philosophical chats.
Maria Gilicinski comes from midwest United States. She is the middle child and was homeschooled along with her siblings throughout most of her school years. It was during these years of homeschooling that Maria began to love the different disciplines within classical learning. History and literature were always her favorites. Maria went to Thomas Aquinas College and received her Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Arts in 2019. Since then, she has been teaching at different classical middle and high schools throughout the States, and now is so excited to be a tutor for students for WISDOM Home Schooling. In her spare time, Maria enjoys baking, cooking, reading, listening to audiobooks, and playing the cello.
One of Emily's greatest joys in life is sharing a good story with her children, and she is thrilled to do the same with WISDOM students. Although not homeschooled herself, Emily learned to appreciate and admire homeschooling when she co-founded and taught in a homeschooling co-op filled with excited, motivated learners who loved a good debate.
Emily studied political philosophy and art history at the University of Dallas and theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. She enjoys exploring new places, diagramming complicated sentences, and listening to her children recite poetry.
Meaghen Gonzalez graduated from Ave Maria University, after which she worked in publishing at Ignatius Press in San Francisco and Catholic Insight Magazine in Toronto before moving to Los Angeles to begin screenwriting studies. She is an alum of the Act One Writing Program, has taken improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade and writing classes at Second City, and has two produced scripts (one on Baptism, which she co-wrote for Family Theater Productions, and one comedy-horror she co-wrote and filmed in her own apartment!). Even more exciting, four years after moving to Los Angeles she married David Gonzalez in 2018. She has been a tutor for WISDOM since the fall of 2011 and loves working with students to develop their knowledge of literature and improve their writing skills.
Michael Foster earned a Master of Music from Georgia Southern University in 2016, where he graduated magna cum laude. He has spent the last eight years studying and teaching the liberal arts. His interest in these fields was sparked as a music student where he was exposed to the science of harmonics in classical Greece, which in turn led to a rigorous study of classical mathematics and ancient languages. Michael resides in the state of Tennessee with his wife and four young children. In his non-existent spare time, he enjoys singing in choir, cooking, reading, and spending time with family.
Rachel grew up in the midwest United States with her parents, brother, and a succession of pet rabbits. She attended Hillsdale College and began teaching immediately afterward, her first job as a teacher's assistant for English classes in France. Following her time abroad, she worked in traditional public schools and at an educational professional development company before returning to classical education at a K-12 classical charter school. In her role there, she taught a variety of ages and classes, ranging from 4th grade to 6th grade French to high school composition. She also served as a curriculum specialist, faculty coach, and department head. She worked for two years as a Master Teacher for the Barney Charter School Initiative and has presented regularly at their summer conference.
Her greatest accomplishment to date is teaching pregnant until two days before giving birth to her first son without going into labor during class. Today, she lives in northern Indiana with her husband and two sons, with whom she enjoys cooking, hiking, and reading.
Emily grew up under the wide open sky of Alberta. She rejoices in the fact that she was homeschooled with WISDOM Homeschooling from start to finish. As the second oldest of ten, Emily’s school years were filled with a healthy amount of flexibility and home economics. In high school, Emily began to take courses with WISDOM’s Socratic Dialogue Online Program and immediately became captivated. After high school, Emily attended Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. Here Emily’s love for the Liberal Arts and the pursuit of Truth went from bud to bloom. She graduated from SWC in Spring 2021 with a Bachelor of Catholic Studies Concentrating in Classical and Early Christian Studies and then from Tyndale University in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Literature. Emily is very excited to be fulfilling her double-dream of being a WISDOM Tutor and a Latin Teacher.
Some of Emily’s loves include challenging her friends to a game of Latin Bananagrams, inventing new recipes, everything that involves working or playing in the great outdoors, and reading almost anything. But, more than anything, Emily loves spending time with her new husband Paul.
Mark was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the eldest of 10 children and was homeschooled with WISDOM from Grade 1-12. After graduating high school, he attended Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College (SWC) in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Catholic Studies, concentrating in Philosophy and Theology. Mark has studied Latin over the course of seven years, including taking all three of WISDOM’s online Latin courses during high school. He most recently completed a Latin readings course in his final year at SWC where he worked on translating selections from various classical Latin authors, including Caesar, Pliny, and Suetonius, as well as passages from the Vulgate
Mark’s interests and passions include studying and promoting good Liturgy, singing Sacred Music, and discussing The Lord of the Rings. He loves astronomy and meteorology - there isn’t a storm he doesn’t track! In the winter, Mark enjoys playing hockey on the large outdoor rink his dad builds, and is an avid Oilers fan. He also likes hiking and participating in other sports, soccer especially. Mark currently resides in Parkland County, Alberta, with his wife, Domenica.
Miriam Novotny is a Socratic dialogue veteran with a passion for literature, theology, and the Liberal Arts. Since her graduation from WISDOM in 2019, she has furthered her education through both independent study and institutes such as ClassicalU and Junius Johnson Academics. She believes that a true education should not only impart knowledge and encourage critical thinking; it should inform the worldview and develop the personhood of the student. She has led the WISDOM Philosophy Club since 2022.
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