Don Poole

I am a retired science teacher, who doesn't like to have a photo on the internet. I am well on my way to becoming 80 years of age. I taught school for 28 years and then consulted in education for 10 years after that. I was hired by The Soros Foundation to train teachers and administrators in many of what was termed the 'break away' Soviet Union countries. I traveled all over the world for 5 years developing and doing training for the needs of educators in many of these countries. This travel helped me develop my book Seeking Higher Ground, as I realized that all the people I met, regardless of ethic origin or status were just like me. They wanted the same things I wanted in life. When 9-11 occurred, my Muslim friends in Kazakstan and Krygyzstan were the first to email me and see if I was OK.

I began my journey as a writer around 10 years ago, writing various essays on topics related to how we humans think. I have taught teachers about Brain Based Leaning, Personality inventories, humor, and other topics in education. I consulted with local school systems, worked for the University of Maryland as student teacher coordinator, and John Hopkins University in a study on consistent discipline in elementary schools throughout the state of Maryland. (Just to highlight some of my work.)

I have had enough experiences in education that helped me write my book Seeking Higher Ground. I am a Christian and write from that viewpoint, even though I would rather be called a follower of Jesus than a Christian these days, because of the political implications of calling yourself a Christian.

I believe very strongly that our nation (America) is becoming more and more secular and moving more and more away from any moral center that we used to have as a nation. The lack of any moral compasses in our leaders is alarming me, not for my sake, but for the sake of my grandchildren and their children in the future. I believe that our main problem as a nation is that we have become 'left brain thinkers' and do not honor or encourage the 'right brain thinking' that is so needed at this time. I explain all that in my book Seeking Higher Ground.

I wrote Seeking Higher Ground in order for my family and friends to know how to think clearly. Many of them liked what I have to say, and encouraged me to continue to write down my thoughts and experiences. It is my hope that in the future one of my great great grandchildren will read my book and have some idea of what their ancestor was all about.

It took me a long time to write and publish Seeking Higher Ground. Putting yourself 'out there' for anyone to read and know about you was and is a frightening idea for me. I did not take the step to publish with a publishing house lightly. I still worry that my words will be misunderstood. But as a wise man said: Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. (That doesn't imply that I am a good man. I don't believe anyone is bad or good; we do bad or good acts.)

I am working on another book about finding meaning in life. I know that is a big topic to handle, but I think I have something to say about finding meaning, since I have found a lot of it in my life.