In the Classroom: An Introduction to Education

Arthea J. S. Reed, has taught at the University of North Carolina at Ashville for seventeen years, serving as professor and chair of the Education Department at the liberal arts, public university; she is now Director of Education and Development at Northwestern Mutual Life in Ashville. She received her Ph.D. from Florida State University, her M.S. from Southern Connecticut State University, and her B.A. from Bethany College in West Virginia. She has taught in grades two through twelve in the public schools of Connecticut, Ohio, and West Virginia. She is author of Reaching Adolescents: The Young Adult Book and the School (Merrill, 1993), Comics to Classics: A Guide to Books for Teens and Preteens (Penguin, 1994), Presenting Harry Mazer (Twayne, 1996), and numerous monographs, book chapters, and articles. For six years, she was editor of The ALAN Review, a highly-regarded journal in the field of young adult literature. She has been coeditor of the Penguin/Signet Classic teachers guide series since 1988, editing or writing guides to over thirty classic books and CD-ROMs. She was the chair of the National Council of Teachers of English Promising Young Writers program from 1990-1995 and was codirector of the Mountain Area Writing Project, a site of the national Writing Project , for eight years. In 1996 she served as president of ALAN. She has served on numerous local, state, and national education committees and in 1985 was named the Ruth and Leon Feldman Professor by the UNCA faculty for her service to education. In 1999 she wrote Norma Fox-Mazer: A Writers Writer (Scarecrow).

Verna E. Bergemann is professor emeritus and past chair of the Education Department at the University of North Carolina at Ashville, where she taught for 12 years. She currently lives in Marion, North Carolina. Prior to coming to UNCA, she was a professor of education at the State University of New York at Oswego for 13 years. She earned her Ed.D. at the University of Maryland, her M.A. at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and her B.A. at the State University of New York at New Mexico. She was worked with beginning teachers as a helping teacher, as a cooperating teacher in a university laboratory school, and as a consultant with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She has been a professor of education at two universities and is the author of numerous articles and activity workbooks for teachers. For many years she has worked closely with volunteer organizations which attempt to improve adult literacy. In 1989, she was named Woman of Distinction and Woman of the Year by the city of Asheville for her outstanding contributions to literacy education. In 1992, she chaired a school study committee for private schools in Asheville. In 1997, she was selected to appear in the 1997/1998 Whos Who in the South and Southeast. In 1999/2000 she continues her work in teacher education, supervising student teachers.

Mary W. Olson is professor emeritus and former interim dean, associate dean, and chair of two departments in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Olson earned her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. She was a classroom teacher for thirteen years in Texas, California, Montana, and Okinawa, teaching K-5 grades. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in professional journals. Dr. Olson was the recipient of the SWTSU Teaching Excellence Award.