October 21, 2011
I recently received a letter from Mrs. Koller’s 4th/5th Grade Language Arts Class in California, asking a question that I’m often asked when I visit schools. So, I thought I would answer it here, for everyone to read.
Dear Mr. Simon,
We loved your book VOLCANOES!! After reading it in our Houghton Mifflin readers, we read the section, "Meet the Author." The students wanted to know - what made you decide to retire from teaching and become an author? Do you ever miss being in the classroom?
In answer to your questions, I loved teaching, particularly working with smart, interesting kids and exploring subjects together. It doesn’t even have to be Science. I also taught Social Studies, English and Creative Writing while I was a teacher. Whatever the subject, I just loved being a teacher!
I finally stopped teaching after I had written about 100 books. There simply wasn’t enough time to write all the books that publishers were asking me to do and have a teaching job, also.
I always say that I don’t feel that I have ever really stopped teaching, because I visit schools year round and "teach" students all over the country. As long as I continue writing and speaking, I don’t think I will ever really have stopped teaching.
Photo: Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Photographer: Michael Zamora. Reprinted with permission.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
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Labels: Kids Write, Teachers and Librarians
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