MICHAEL SHOULDERS

BIOGRAPHY I BOOKS I PRESENTATIONS I BOOK ORDERING

I was born two minutes before

my twin sister, Patricia, on August

19, 1954. We spent most of our

childhood traveling as an army family.

My dad's military assignments took

us to Fort Knox, KY; Fort Chaffee,

AR; two visits to Germany; and Fort Campbell, KY!  I graduated from

Northwest High School in Clarksville,

Tennessee, in 1972. I attended Austin

Peay State University and received

my education degree in 1976.  I

married my wife Debbie in 1974. We

have three grown children: Jason,

Ryan, and Meghann, the youngest.

We also have a standard poodle

named Hershey!         

I have immersed myself in the field

of education since the age of twenty-

one. As a Federal Programs

Supervisor for Clarksville-Montgomery

County Schools, I provide assistance

to all 30 schools in the district. I also provide inservice training to teachers, and share teaching techniques to colleagues in the school system.

I attended the Governor's Academy for Teachers of Writing in 1995. I was bitten by the writing bug and have written for publication ever since!

My passion for education spills outside the classroom too. In 1997, I created a column called "Story Time" for Tennessee 's oldest paper, The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. In my weekly column, I review children's literature, with an educator's slant. When asked what makes a student more successful, I say, "Family involvement in education and parents reading to their children. Families who communicate about school, and families who read together produce more successful students."

I was elected to the Tennessee Supervisors' Study Council in 1999. During 2001,

I served as that group's Chairperson. As Chair, I distributed new educational information to school supervisors throughout Tennessee . I am a doctoral candidate at Tennessee State University. I am a member of the International Reading Association as well as the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.     

Language is fascinating and exciting! To sharpen my poetry, I wrote and recorded a rap song for my son's soccer team. My favorite food is my own homemade caramel corn.

V is for Volunteer: A Tennessee Alphabet was my first published book. However, N is for The Natural State and Count on Us: A Tennessee Counting Book soon followed, and I hope many more will come.