I discovered young adult literature in the mid-70s when a teaching colleague shared Paul Zindel's The Pigman with me. From then on I was hooked! As a result, I'm sure I've read more young adult books than adult books in my life. Regardless, it was my exposure to young adult literature that finally turned me into a reader. Best of all, I've had the opportunity of turning hundreds of teenagers into readers as they connect to the lives of other teenagers in young adult works.
I earned both a BS in Common Learnings (English and social studies) and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas. After teaching English and social studies for twenty-seven years in both junior high and high schools in Shawnee Mission and Ottawa, Kansas, I became an instructional resource teacher in Olathe, Kansas, working as a support teacher for new-to-the-district secondary teachers of all subject areas. Currently, I serve as the K–12 Language Arts Coordinator for the Olathe District School.
My passion for young adult literature grew immensely with my involvement in ALAN, The Assembly for Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. I have had the privilege of serving as president of ALAN, serving as a member of the executive board of NCTE, and being named both a Kansas Master Teacher as well as a finalist for Kansas Teacher of the Year. I have provided professional development sessions on such topics as young adult literature, reading strategies across the curriculum, writing across the curriculum, classroom management, effective lesson design, and brain research and its application to the secondary classroom. My publications include Using Young Adult Literature in the English Classroom, co-authored with John H. Bushman (Prentice-Hall, 2001).
C&T 430 Teaching Literature for Young Adults