I am delighted to be teaching at Dunkerton High School. I have been familar with the system for many years, and I have marveled at the progress the school has made during the past couple of decades, both in quality of education and in building improvements.

I am a veteran teacher who brings a passion for children and education. Previously, I taught high school English at Wapsie Valley, Fairbank, for thirty-two years and high school English at Central Decatur, Leon, for one year. My emphasis in the classroom has always been on writing skills; however, I love literature and enjoy teaching both classical and contemporary literature.

I believe in active learning; therefore, class lectures are almost non-existent. Students are involved in a variety of activities, individually and cooperatively. My favorite teaching segment is Writing Workshop; during this class segment, I involve all of my students in the writing workshop atmposphere at least once a day. I will often write and share with them. I consider myself a writer, and I wish for each of my students to consider himself or herself one as well.

Although I no longer coach, I have an extensive coaching background in baseball, softball, track & field, and cross country. My cross country teams won two state championships and placed as a runner-up at state once. I coached well over one hundred state track qualifiers. As with my classroom assignments, the most important aspect of coaching athletics has always concerned the growth of individuals. Hopefully, all of my students and athletes have looked at themselves as "winners."

My hobbies include writing, reading, and running. I do all three as much as possible. As a runner I have completed two marathons, and I attempt to run daily for both physical and mental health reasons.

Of all my interests, my family comes first. My wife, Lauri, is a classroom assistant at Readlyn Elementary in the Special Needs room. We have three children and six grandchildren. Our three daughters graduated from Iowa uiversities: Lisa and Kim from Drake University and Kristin from Iowa University. Lisa and her family live in Des Moines; Kim and her family, in Naperville, Illinois; and Kristin and her husband, in Portland, Maine.

Here I am at Dunkerton, and I am loving it all: the students, the faculty and administration, the community, block scheduling, and my classroom that is tucked away in the southwest corner of the old building. As I once told a student, I feel as if I am teaching at Harvard or Yale. Oh, one other love: I once taught in an air conditioned building, and there were no windows in my classroom; now I can enjoy both the lush green Iowa farm land through the view of my windows and the sweet aroma of freshly cut grass filtering through the entire building.

As a teacher, I could have taught any place in the United States that I desired. As far as I am concerned, there is no better location than Northeast Iowa to call home.

I AM HOME!