From Richard Beach. Having completed his doctoral program at the U along with Jerry Harste, he was very much at home at the U and served to build up the reading program there. I have fond memories of him as not only a strong teacher, but a very capable advisor to lots of top-notch doctoral students who themselves went on to do great work. He encouraged me to start attending LRA in the late 70s, which provided me with the most cutting-edge professional development of my career. I also recall that he was an active citizen in his Minneapolis neighborhood where he was very supportive of local schooling efforts. All of this reflects how he was always someone who not only continually connected with others, but also someone who provided those others with new ways of growing and developing.
Now that I spend my winters in North Berkeley, I always look forward to our annual dinner out with him to catch up with his latest projects–he may be retired, but he’ll always be contributing to the field of literacy education. I was sorry to miss the gathering, but look forward to another dinner in winter, 2019. Congrats on your retirement.
Leave a Reply