Benjamin Franklin: You Know What To Say (Another Great Achiever)

A brief biography of the young Philadelphia printer who grew up to become a world-renowned author, diplomat, scientist, and inventor, and one of the founding fathers of the United States.

Carl Sommer is a successful businessman and a devoted educator who has a passion for communicating values and practical learning skills to students. He is dedicated to teaching children, young people, and adults by imparting principles necessary for success in an increasingly complex world. Following his passion, Sommer has authored books in many categories: the award-winning "Another Sommer-Time Story" series-18 children's books which impart values and principles of success to younger children; Reading Success-an adult literature-based phonics reading program; and Number Success-a complete practical mathematics series from addition to trigonometry. The Ugly Caterpillar received the Benjamin Franklin Award for being the best children's picture book, and Mayor For A Day received Today's Librarian award for best children's picture book. Sommer served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. At age 40, Sommer became a New York City public high school teacher. To beco! me a certified teacher, he attended Oswego State University, City College of New York, and New York University. Sommer then became an assistant dean of boys in a high school with 3,600 pupils where he counseled students and parents. As Sommer taught, he saw the many deficiencies of the educational system and began to investigate the system. His research led him to work as a substitute teacher at every grade level in twenty-seven different schools in all of the boroughs of New York City. Identifying the problems and needs of America's students, he proceeded to craft solutions. His exhaustive ten-year study led to his first book--Schools in Crisis: Training for Success or Failure?, credited with influencing school reform in many states. Dr. Robert Simonds, president of Citizens for Excellence, states, "Carl Sommers' book, 'School in Crisis: Training for Success or Failure?' has been highly endorsed by teachers, university professors, legislatures and other prominent educators ar! ound the country. His book has had a major impact on school reform in New York, as well as many other states." Across the nation, Sommer has appeared on radio and television shows, including the nationally syndicated Oprah Winfrey Show. He also served on the Texas State Board of Education Review Committee and taught a Junior Achievement economics course at Prague University, Czech Republic. Sommer is the founder and president of Advance Publishing, Inc., MediaONE Productions, (recording and video studio), and Reliable EDM, Inc. Reliable EDM, where precision machining is done by means of electrical discharge machining, is the largest company of its kind west of the Mississippi. He also co-authored Wire EDM Handbook with his son, and authored the 432-page Non-Traditional Machining Handbook, a technical book describing all the non-traditional machining methods currently available. Happily married since 1955, Sommer has five children and eleven grandchildren.