When I started Teaching That Makes Sense back in 1995, the Internet was in its infancy and largely unknown to most of us. Even though I had worked in high technology since the 1980s, and had been writing long before then, it never occurred to me that in a few short years I would no longer be publishing my ideas first on paper, but on the World Wide Web instead. Now, it is hard for me to imagine web-based publishing not being utterly irresistible to writers who thrill to the possibility of reaching large and diverse audiences through an interactive format that has become a world standard. Combine the control and convenience of having my own personal place to put things, with the immediacy and impact of a medium that has the potential to reach millions of readers in mere minutes, and it's a wonder I ever leave my office at all.

Get to Know Me!

Here's a bit of info about who I am, what I've done, and what I believe about teaching and learning. If there's anything else you'd like to know, send me an e-mail at stevepeha@ttms.org.

My Bio, Philosophy, Resume, Comments, and Recommendations

The Rest of the Story

This is the text of a speech I gave at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, where I received the 2001 Award for Innovation in Education from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation for “The Effective Learning Series,” my column in The Seattle Times.

My National Press Club Speech

Besting the Testing Without Over-Investing

Is all this testing good or bad? Is there a practical position we can take that neither blindly supports nor wholeheartedly condemns the national testing movement? This essay explores the issue of testing and attempts to come up with answers that work for everyone.

A Common Sense Approach to Testing and Reform

I Am Not Myself Today

This was the introduction to the essay collection I submitted as my final project for Advanced Composition, English 314, Spring Quarter, 1985, at Central Washington University. I have included this piece here, not to drag you the scrapbook of my early life and have you ooh and awe at all my clippings, but because of something life-altering that occurred to me as a result of having written it, something about the teaching of writing that I hope I never forget.

An Essay on Essay Writing

A Day in the Life

Long before I worked as an education consultant, I was a tutor. I worked with kids of all ages in the late afternoon and early evening hours helping them with their homework and providing support in subjects where they struggled. Most of the work was routine and predictable. But some sessions, like the one I recount here, were extremely valuable to me.

An Essay About Tutoring