It's Time...To Face Facts

I'm a teacher. I've always been a teacher. I remember teaching neighborhood kids how to play softball. I've worked with kids from preschool through high school in camps, recreation programs, schools, residential programs,and church. I've worked with children who are nonhandicapped, autistic, ...you name it. A lot of the time, I worked directly with kids, but much of my career was spent in teaching others how to work with children. However, it's always been about teaching.

When I started writing, I gathered hundreds of stories from other teachers, parents, and former students, intending to share some of these stories and lessons I learned. The Real Classroom is, in many ways, a teaching tool. It's meant to illustrate what really happens in schools so there is a better understanding of what teachers do. I then wrote my series, What Makes Me..., with each book told through a student's eyes that describe the challenges they face. It teaches parents, counselors- really all adults- how children face difficult decisions every day. Kids may like the books, also and relate to what others their age go through. Finally, there's my most recent book, Defining America. Defining America teaches all of us to question everything as if we could have a "do over". That "do over" mostly applies to America, but it also applies to challenges we all face every day.

Teaching isn't just an adult sitting in front of a group of children presenting information for them to absorb. It's really about presenting, modeling, encouraging, guiding- in short, teaching- other individuals how to develop new skills and learn about others as they grow.

I'll always be a teacher.

Jim