Pre-AP* English - Jeffery House
Entering my 27th year of teaching, I’m just starting to learn the job.
I currently teach at a small, private school south of the San Francisco Bay area, but I’ve taught
in public schools around the state in suburban and small town settings. I have a BA in journalism
and an MA in English Literature, taking most of my coursework at San Jose State University. I’ve
experimented with teaching environments, having taught learning disabled, mainstream, and honors
students in traditional and interdepartmental courses. My studies over the last decade in mythology,
American culture and writing led to published articles in English Journal and other periodicals and
the creation of several websites for teachers and students. I just recently completed Writing is
Dialogue: Teaching Students to Write (and Think) like Writers, a writing text drawn from classroom
experiences and much of the material used in my lectures on teaching writing; the book was published
in March of 2006 by Christopher-Gordon Publishers. The recipient of seven NEH grants, I’ve traveled
across the continent a few times in the study of African-American literature, early eighteenth-century
American and British lit; humanities and the Renaissance; Medieval Germanic epics; and Shakespeare.
Finally, I’ve lectured for the College Board, the California Association of Teachers of English, the
California Association for Independent Schools, and the San Diego-based AVID, and I’m a consultant
for the San Jose Area Writing Project. After three margaritas, I’ve been known to pull out my guitar
and sing 60s protest songs, so I drink moderately.
Participants should feel free to contact me, if they have any questions in advance.
