Even as a boy, there were three things I enjoyed above others: learning about the world, traveling with my family and working with other people to solve a problem or complete a project. Naturally, I also loved to play but even that often fit into these three areas.

I'm not a youngster anymore, in fact I retired two years ago, but those loves have always been with me and have influenced me greatly. I have spent most of my professional life in schools where I could learn and help others learn as well and where I could work with hundreds of students over the years, each with unique personalities, strengths, interests and needs. I taught math, science and technology in middle and high schools and eventually became a high school principal and school director. But I was always a teacher first and always motivated by the individual students in my classes and schools.

And what about my love of travel? After teaching for 3 years in Kansas, my wife and I became teachers in international schools, working in some of the best schools in the world with the children of diplomats and business professionals posted abroad. For nearly 30 years and in seven countries, we supported the learning of students, many of whom were American but many others who came from at least 50 other countries and whose home languages were diverse but who were learning in an American-curriculum, English language based school much like the best independent schools here in the U.S.

So now I am happily retired here in Lawrence, enjoying being close to family but missing that special satisfaction of sharing in the learning and growth of my students. I have a wealth of strategies and tools to bring to the learning process that I hope can help me to help any learner.