Phonics Success for All Grades

What career can manifest a rewarding experience? It must be teaching. My teaching career began in Fergus Falls, MN in 1975. Ironically it was my home town. I went to school there, I student-taught there and I went on to teach there for 34 years. After getting a Masters in Reading at Moorhead State in 1987, I was so energized about what I had learned that I began conducting workshops for teachers. My superintendent graciously allowed me to leave on occasion and I used the money I raised from the teacher training to buy $50,000 worth of book sets for my school system. My wife and I also operated a vegetable business called Bluebird Gardens for 39 years. Teaching and vegetable farming were equal passions. When we ended our vegetable farm in 2016, I felt the need to teach again. So we moved to AZ in 2017 and I have been teaching fourth grade ELA at Champion Charter School in San Tan Valley. I love the diversity of AZ.

Can learning and work be fun?? Why, yes, they can. I want my classroom to be alive and fun but also a place of high rigor and success!! I feel reading and writing strategies arise based on need. When we teach to their needs in the form of strategies, real success occurs.

Why would one only give a tiny bit in life?? The more you give, the more good comes back. In 1995, I was finalist for MN Teacher of the Year, In 2001, I was the first WalMart local, state and national Teacher of the Year. I was also on the Disney Channel Salute to the American Teacher. But real awards come from the students. The graduating classes from Fergus Falls, MN, repeatedly named me as one of their most influential elementary teachers.

In the 1960's, I trudged across the fields to go to my one room country school. There were two in my class besides me. In seventh grade, I switched to school in Fergus Falls with 310 classmates. That was quite a switch. Upon graduating, I attended the Fergus Falls Junior College and then went to Moorhead State College to achieve an BS in elementary teaching. After getting a Masters in Reading from Moorhead State University in 1987, I began, out of excitement, to conduct teacher training. Through it, I started writing books for teachers. The last book I wrote was "Phonics Strategies for the Literature-Centered Classroom", which is what "Phonics Success for All Grades" is based upon. I also delivered seminars across the country for the Bureau of Education and Research. One never knows where life's journey will take you!!

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