Michael Cummings

I have been a high-school English teacher for over thirty years and continued to teach after my retirement as a supply teacher. While I was a PH. D student at Ottawa University, I taught a few courses to first-year students and a university summer course at the university's campus in Cornwall. I also taught a few summer courses to high school students for the Ottawa Board of Education. I enjoy writing critical commentaries on a wide variety of literary texts as well as teaching grammar and writing techniques. I especially enjoy dissecting works of literature and helping students come to grips with the text.

I have employed a wide variety of teaching styles: from classroom discussion and debate, to group work and oral presentations, to one-on-one tutorials, to note-taking skills and essay-writing techniques. I believe that having a solid grounding in one's subject, being well prepared, and having a genuine love and enthusiasm for learning are the keys to any teaching style and give one the versatility and adaptability to seize every teaching moment. I learn a great deal from students - both from their questions and their insights - and I encourage students to disagree with me and to present their own perspective and point of view. Please let me know of any changes you would like me to make so that I might tailor my documents to suit your specific needs. I welcome your comments and feedback; it is a real honour to share my ideas with you and I hope that you will find my commentaries beneficial to you and your students.

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B.A. - St. Patrick's College, Ottawa B.Theology - St. Paul University, Ottawa M.A. - Carleton University, Ottawa Ph. D courses and teaching - Ottawa University, Ottawa B. Ed. - Queen's University, Kingston

I have published a number of literary commentaries for the Ottawa Board of Education. These commentaries, as well as a number of others, have been greatly updated and expanded. I have commentaries on a number of Shakespeare's tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Julius Caesar-complete with a detailed explanation of specific aspects of the play, as well as crossword puzzles, quizzes, essay and seminar topics, discussions of the characteristics of the tragic figure and graphs of the structure of a Shakespearean tragedy. I also have commentaries on The Great Gatsby, Darkness At Noon, A Separate Peace, Brave New World, The Crucible, The Chrysalids, A Man For All Seasons, The Pearl, The Moon is Down, Pygmalion, Caesar and Cleopatra, The Stone Angel, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, Henry IV, Part I, A Handbook on Grammar, Punctuation, Sentence Structure and Essay Writing, and many, many more. I am sure that many will find these commentaries a valuable resource. Please feel free to contact me through the Q@A forum - I am only too happy to help in any way I can. Tks, Mike Cummings