I have a PhD in English and World Literature, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, both from the University of Iowa. I am also a published writer of both fiction and nonfiction. After six years as a full-time college teacher (at Grinnell College, the University of California at Riverside, and Vanderbilt), I became a professional writer and editor for educational publishers such as Houghton Mifflin and McGraw-Hill.

I believe that one thing that often goes wrong in the clas...