This October I will retire from a thirty year career in education. During those thirty years I have worked with almost 150 high school students daily. Those students came to my class with varying abilities and interests; many even came with hostile feelings about school or with little home support. Yet, it was my task to teach them. I was responsible for researching, planning, organizing, teaching and evaluating five lessons each day. Courses I taught included American Literature, Multicultural Literature, Humanities, Film and Literature, and Contemporary Literature. As a teacher I also had to lead, influence, persuade, discipline, communicate, explain, and so much more. Even though the courses I taught tended to have literature as the foundation, they all required a focus on the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Now, after thirty years, I have decided to retire and seek other employment. I will, therefore, be available to begin working, full or part time, after November 1, 2008. I will, however, also be available during most of this summer and part-time evenings while I finish my last weeks of public school teaching.