John D. Sperry

I was born in Bellflower, California in 1979, a place I remember for sunny days and jumping the neighbor's fence with my twin brother to play with their backyard toys before they got home from school. I relocated to Roseburg, Oregon with my family in 1985--the place I called home until I left on a two-year LDS mission to Italy in 1998. And, while I get a lot of flack for coming from such a conservative, hunting-cultured town, I don't regret a day of it. My childhood was awesome!

In 2001, I married Sarah Sharp, a woman that took the raw and feral animal that I was and molded me into something a little less pliable, something solid and a little more focused. In the midst of going to school and teaching, we've managed to bring five children into the world, all of whom were named in some way after people from literature and history that Sarah and I admire. Well, everyone but Jack; we named him after me. We have a LOTR name, a US President's wife, a girl who took a trip through the looking glass, and a little something contrived from Dracula. Each name still means what it did and so much more to us now.

in 2006 I earned my B.A. in English and then my M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oregon the following year. I currently teach 7th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies in Springfield, Oregon where I live with my family, and I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm constantly contemplating about getting my head examined just to see if I can make any kind of sense out of why I chose to teach middle school.