The Center

Stephanie Benjamin is my niece, so you might wonder about the value of the feedback I’m about to share; hopefully in my words you will be able to tell that this is not hype.
It’s true, as her aunt I knew she was smart and very capable, but until I saw her in action, I could not have known how charmingly she could introduce an intensive subject with such great ease, and humor I might add.
Stephanie is gifted (not a word I use often), and that’s why I’m here to talk about her.
I’ve had a lot of teachers in a lot of different subjects; when our class ended I told Stephanie she could probably teach any one of them (with a little bit of prep!). That’s how good she is. It’s clear she knows the material backwards and forwards, but to be able to present it in such an orderly, calm and relaxed way is a real plus. All teachers do not have that extra special ability.
Our class was small: it included two grandmothers, one grandfather, two dads and two six month old babies who were actually rather mesmerized by Stephanie… when they weren’t drinking their bottles.
Even with crying babies, Stephanie remained on task, just making sure to pause long enough until her important messages could once again be heard.
And her messages were heard. All of them. She introduced a lot of information with such an even story line that it was easy to understand and absorb (and I’m one of the grandmothers!). She made sure we practiced each new skill several times, ensuring that we clearly understood how important every little detail was. And she was as thorough as anyone could be. Every question we asked, and we asked plenty, she answered with a wealth of background. My son had recently been trained for CPR through a hospital –and came to this class I think just to make sure grandma and grandpa really got it! But at the end of the class he told Stephanie that he felt he now understood several things better because of her clarity.
I couldn’t have been more impressed… and while I know I’ll return for «brush up» skills in a couple of years, for now I feel our grandchild, my friends and family, are safe with me!