David Somoza

David grew up in New Mexico. After pursuing a career in architecture, he switched gears and went into teaching. For the past 20 years he has been teaching elementary school students. He has taught at public schools in Colorado, Vermont, and New York. He also taught at private, international schools in Brazil and Japan. He currently lives in upstate New York where he teaches 5th grade.

He loves teaching all subjects, but most enjoys teaching writing. He says, "Working with kids is always unpredictable, and that's the best part. If you give the kids parameters but let them go off and explore on their own, you never know what they'll come up with. This is particularly true with writing. Every time they write there's a chance that they'll create something new and beautiful. Even after all these years of teaching, I'm still blown away by their insight, their perspective, their creative use of language, and the genuine passion that comes out in their essays. At times, I think they even surprise themselves. It's often through their writing that I really get to know and understand my kids."

David Somoza and co-author Peter Lourie offer professional workshops and speaking engagements for educators around the country - for information, contact Chandra Lowe at Stenhouse Publishers: clowe@stenhouse.com