Kurt Schuett said he likes to teach at East Leyden High School because the students are “the best kids in the world.”
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school?
More Top Picks Best Hammer Drills
A: I grew in La Grange Park. I went to Lyons Township High School. I went to Culver-Stockton College. I got my master’s degree at Graceland University. I’m currently going to Concordia University Chicago for my Ph.D.
Q: What do you teach at East Leyden?
A: I teach freshman honors AP track and English III American Literature.
Q: What do you teach in your classes?
A: I teach everything from literature and writing, and I spend a lot of time with project-based learning. We spend a lot of time with the Socratic seminar.
Q: What kind books do you read in your classes?
A: For freshmen, we read “Of Mice and Men,” “The Odyssey,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “In Cold Blood.” My juniors read “The Great Gatsby” and “Catcher in the Rye.”
Q: What sports do you coach at East Leyden?
A: I’m the head varsity softball coach. They won the regional championship last year by knocking off Whitney Young.
Q: What books have you had published?
A: My book is called “Insurgency.” I’ve also published a handful of short stories and poems.
Q: What is “Insurgency” about?
A: It’s an urban suspense thriller.
Q: Are you writing anything new?
A: I have the sequel to “Insurgency” finished. I’m waiting until my Ph.D. is finished before I release book two.
Q: When did you become interested in being a writer?
A: When I was a junior in high school, I won the Gwendolyn Brooks award for creative writing. That kind of gave me a nudge in the direction of writing and wanting to share what I had written with others.
Q: What do you like about writing?
A: I really love sharing personal experiences, even if I’m disguising my personal experiences as someone else’s. I really enjoy that.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
A: I like everything and anything having to do with baseball and softball. I like working out. I like spending time with my family at my parents’ lake house. I like being on the water in the summer.
More Top Picks Best Inversion Tables For Back Pain
Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.