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Phoenix Fall Education SpecialA Person%u2019s House Is Their Castie, (And Their Classroom)BY ROB TAYLORFrom a modern-day %u201c Pygmalion%u201d course on losing your Brooklyn accent to tips on adopting foreign children, a wide range of classes are available in Brooklyn to enhance both personal and professional interests. And you don%u2019t have to go to school to get the information. A plethora of classes are taught in the comfort of a Brooklyn living room.Instructor training varies from hobby experience to higher education qualifications and nearly all have found that teaching from either their own homes or those of the students offers a more %u201cintimate%u201d and %u201cpersonal%u201d atmosphere for learning.%u201c People are less intimidated when they%u2019re learning in a home,%u201d says Anna Tumolillo, a stenography teacher from Bensonhurst who has been teaching in homes for about three years. With 27 years experience as a secretary and part-time staff-member at Kingsborough Community College, she has been teaching typing and stenography as a way to earn additional income. Originally Tumolillo rented a hall and taught from there, but eventually decided she could offer the classes less expensively at home. %u201cThe overhead expenses caused me to ask myself whether I could do the same thing in a house,%u201d she says. %u201cI thought it would be better to try to accommodate my studentsin the best way possible, so I decided to try teaching in my home.%u201dCAN RESCHEDULETumolillo adds that she will also teach classes in other peoples%u2019 homes if they can get the class together. She says the main advantage of taking a course at home is flexibility. %u201cA student can make up a class if they miss one because I can try to reschedule the dates if a problem arises,%u201d she explains. %u201cIf I rented a classroom it means the students have to be at a set place at a set time and with stenography you cannot leam it unless you have all the practice you can get. I have the time as long as they have the effort.%u201dDaniela Gioseffi also has professional qualifications for her courses on Brooklyn accents. %u201cI have analyzed the Brooklyn accent for years and have been teaching people how to speak with a smoother, newscaster American speech for more than 20 years,%u201d says the St. Francis College faculty member.Gioseffi teaches voice and diction and has lectured at colleges around the world. She says that she became interested in teaching the subject in homes because the Brooklyn accent is not highly regarded. %u201cThe Brooklyn dialect had a bad reputation from all the gangster movies,%u201d she says. %u201cThe accent is often judged as ignorant. In myclasses I work on particular sounds and do not try to teach a pretentious British accent, but a more confident American way of speaking.%u201dIn a small group, Gioseffi says she can make people conscious of their speaking patterns in one lesson. %u201c A person who is highly motivated can get rid of the accent in a very short time,%u201d she says. GioseffiThe Brooklyn dialect has abad reputation from all thegangster movies. I do not tryto teach a pretentious Britishaccent, but American.also makes tapes for people to practice in their own homes, making the cost of an %u201caccent change%u201d even less expensive.SOME TEACH HOBBIESFor other in-home instructors, hobbies became their avocations before they decided to begin offering courses of personal interest. Norman Weinstein has long been fascinated with Chinese cuisine and has been teaching classes from his home in Kensington for about 14 years. Limiting his classes to seven students each he says that learning to cook Chinese-style is as much%u201ca history lesson as it is a food lesson.%u201d%u201cIt%u2019s a marvelous way to leam how to cook, cut vegetables and meat, and to use food efficiently,%u201d he says. Weinstein offers an introduction class of six lessons and teaches techniques from some of the various regions of China. He also teaches onesession classes on specialty dishes such as Peking Duck. %u201cIt is a homey atmosphere where we can concentrate on the whole sequence of events that need to take place in Chinese cooking.%u201dOther personal hobbies that are taught in homes include photography, dance and sewing. Sally Brandi began knitting when she was a junior high school student. While she was in college she taught some of her friends to knit and by the time she began teaching at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, she was offering afternoon knitting classes to second through fourth grade pupils.%u201cThere is not much available in knitting in this part of Brooklyn,%u201d she says. %u201cKnitting is also more personal and needs individual attention if you are going to teach it, so small classes are ideal.%u201dBrandi began teaching the in-home classes last year and says that it takes about five sessions before a person can %u201cget going on their own.%u201dA G U ID E TO B R O O K L Y N 'S H O M E IN S T R U C T IO N CLASSESThink of school and you think of straight backed chairs, row's of desks, and a sternlooking teacher peering over granny glasses.Think again. Think of a plush living room, a sparkling country kitchen; a garden patio. Think of a teacher who personalizes your instruction between feeding the kids and bedtime stories. Education in the home is not a new notion, but as rents escalate and time becomes scarce, it is a way of earning extra money catching on like wildfire. And all you need is a marketable skill and a place to live.At home education is good for both parties. Adults who want to brush up on their stenography or Chinese cooking don%u2019t have to be anxious about the stiff classroom setting they remember about their earlier schooling. Classes can be tailor-made to fit the schedules of the participants, and the teacher. The atmosphere is relaxed and flexible. The idea is also good for the teachers because they can turn a portion of their home into a school for a brief period, and not have to worry about finding childcare, paying rents, and lugging course materials from one location to another. Not only does this give peace of mind, it also lowers the cost of the course, by lowering the overhead.Home instruction is growing through groups like the Brooklyn Skills Exchange, designed to encourage adult education taught in a non-pressure environment.Others have jumped on the bandwagon offering selections in everything from diction to cooking.This week%u2019s home instruction guide offers a list of courses available in Brooklyn including those discussed in the above article. Most classes range from $5 to $40 per session with cooking classes being the most expensive.KNITTING: Sally Brandi teaches knitting toindividuals at their home or hers. Afternoonsor evenings. 200 Dean St. For info, 852-8786.HYPNOSIS AND C OM M UNICATION: Dr. Andrew Krakauer holds group Erickson Hypnosis sessions, with 10 m em ber limit. EveryTues., 7-9pm. $18. Also, %u201c Fathers and Sons:Learning to Communicate,\Open to fathers, grown sons, or father-sonpairs. 10 person limit. New class every fourthSunday, 10am-6pm. Father-son pairs, $90; individual, $50. Pre-registration required forboth courses. 558 7th St. For info, 965-4595.ASSERTIVENESS TR AIN ING : PsychologistLawrence Antler, Ph. D., leads assertivenesstraining program. Weekend classes, limitedenrollment; pre-registration required. 295DeKalb Ave. For info, 622-4539.VIDEO CAMERA USE: Delar Van Sandteaches fundamentals of cam era use, cameraangles, moves, sequences and color correction in course for amateurs with home videoequipment who want to improve their technique. Two three-hour sessions, $35. 56 RugbyRd. For info, 469-1211.PITMAN STENOGRAPHY: Anna Tum olilloteaches Pitman Stenography for beginners oras a refresher for people returning to thebusiness world. 1563 W. 9th St. For info,256-3875.FAMILY THERAPY: George D. Cohen, CSW,makes home visits for family therapy andtherapy for adolescents. 352 Court St. For info, 237-1660.ART PORTFOLIO PREPARATION: TobyNeedier helps prepare art portfolios for admission to the specialized art high schoolsand colleges. 51 M ontgom ery PI. For info,783-1018.GRADE SCHO O L TUTORING: ChristopherDuncan provides tutoring for elem entary andmiddle school students in: learning skills,mathematics, English, and writing, for$25/hour. Supervised study for $18/hour. 254Prospect PI. For info, 230-5018.SENIOR FITNESS: Group of senior citizensmeets every Tues., 12-2pm, for talking and exercise, with them e \James Pi. For info, 390-1484.PAINTING AND DRAWING: Established artist, workingin realist tradition, gives classesin painting and drawing. Atlantic Ave. location. For info, 625-3872.PRIVATE EXERCISE: Professional instructor gives private exercise classes in home orown studio. For info, 852-1305.FLUTE LESSONS: Professional flutist giveslessons to students of all ages and abilities.Studios in Park Slope and Manhattan. For info, 788-1988.SLOPE JAZZ: Charles Sibirsky giveslessons in jazz scales, theory, applied harmony, tunes, transcribing lines and solos, eartraining, and rhythm. Park Slope location.$20/hour. For info, 768-3804.MUSIC LESSONS: Prof. Robert Scott,Ph.D., gives lessons to beginning, interm ediate and advanced students in piano,voice, theory. For info, 237-9381.MUSIC FOR KIDS: Christiane Drapkin givespiano lessons for beginners. Starts at $10. Forinfo, 788-8048.SPEAKING CLEARLY: Daniela Gioseffiteaches classes in %u201cSpeaking Effectively andClearly,%u201d and %u201cGetting Rid of Your BrooklynAccent.\11202. For info, 624-3348.MEMORY A N D SEX: Dr. Lenore S. Powellteaches two hour course on %u201c Memory: Use Itor Lose It.\%u201c Parents and Children Talk About Sex,\parents and adolescent children. Midafternoons and evenings. $15/family. OceanParkway location. For info, 871-6251.GOURD M USIC: Cheryl Thomas teachesbeginning adults to play the gourd, Fri.,6:30-8pm. Children's classes available. Ratesvary. Private lessons, $20/hour. CrownHeights location. For info, 622-2642.ADOPTION SEMINARS: Roberta Kalmargives seminars on private and foreign adoption. 571 8th St., address subject to change.For info, 499-8993 after 9pm.BRITISH A C TIN G TECHNIQ UE: JohnRainer teaches British acting technique toclass of less than 10 students. Sat. morningand afternoon; Mon. and Tues. evening.Private lessons available. Location near BAM.For info, 858-7502.CHINESE COOKING: Norman Weinsteinteaches Chinese cooking to small classes.412 E. 2nd St. For info, 438-0577.REMEDIAL READING: Paul Jasper teachesremediation in reading for all grades. 323Dahill Rd. For info, 871-4213.ARTSCRAFTSC O M P U TE R SJU D OK A R A T E30 T bird Ave. %u2022 Bklyn %u2022 NY %u2022 11217T I N U A %u2022 875-1190AFTER SCHOOLPROGRAMAges 6-12 %u2022 Mon. thru Fri., 3-6Quality Education & Recreationyour Children while you workAlter school bus service from: PS 20, PS 11 & PS 8%u2022 Saturday Fun Day %u2022 10 AM-2 PM %u2022Boys & Girls 6-12 %u2022Activities include swimming, arts and crafts, games, and special trips. Bring lunch,sneakers, swimsuit, cap towel, a small padlock and key.THE BROOKLYN YWCA'SMontessori Dayschoo!American MontessoriFor children:15 months-5 yearsSPECIAL FEATURESThe fully prepared classroom environm ent features genuine Montessorieducational aids w hich help developskills essential fo r reading, w riting,and organizing experiences in am eaningful way:red rodspink tow erbrow n prismsbinom ial cubespindle boxbead stairssand paper lettersand num eralsrough and sm oothboardsw orld m ap puzzlem ovable alphabetd re ss in g ira m e sO u r Dayschool children have the advantage of all the facilities that theBrooklyn Y W C A has to offer:sw im m ing pool, in d o o r gym nasium ,kitchens, o u tdoor playgroundsSociety Affiliate(718) 875-1190/1FLEXIBLE SCHEDULESThe year-round Montessori Dayschooloffers a variety o f schedules andm o d erate fees payable in easy m o n %u00adth ly installm ents.M o n d ay through Friday:H a lf d a y -9 a m to 1pm($ 2 1 5 .0 0 per m onth)Full d a y -9 a m to 3pm($ 2 8 5 .0 0 per m onth)Extended d a y -8 a m to 6pm($ 3 6 0 .0 0 per m onth)The extended day is designed to m eetthe needs o f w orking parents.B R O O K L Y K YYW CAc n u a re n enjoy a a m e re m special activity each day, such as art, m usic,Spanish, sw im m ing, o r gymnastics. Adaily snack period is also in cluded .30 3rd Ave.B rooklyn, NY 11217875-1190Page 26, THE PH O EN IX, Septem ber 4, 1986