Since 2006, Dave has taught in an urban middle school (Baltimore, MD), a rural high school (Cedar Springs, MI), and some of the richest and poorest schools in New York City. In all these settings, he has found that students everywhere enjoy learning how to be awesome at life, specifically in the areas of character and literacy. Conveniently, these things are great predictors of life chances, and this is why Dave loves talking to teachers about dominating literacy instruction and character development in the classroom.

The best way to get a feel for Dave’s approach is through teachingthecore.com, the blog he started in May 2012. There, you’ll quickly discover what his 35,000+ readers per month already know: that Dave is unafraid to be honest and real about matters of teaching and learning.

Dave’s audiences appreciate that he’s actually a teacher, daily bridging the gap between theory and practice in his secondary English and history classes. This has led to a non-freaked out, down-to-earth approach that empowers teachers rather than weighing them down. Dave’s accolades include a national Teacher Innovator Grant on character and the 2014 alumni achievement award from the American College of Education. He was also one of five finalists for Michigan Teacher of the Year in 2015.

If you hire Dave as a speaker or workshop facilitator, expect to get past fluff and straight to what works. He advocates a non-freaked out, focused approach to literacy and character, and his approach perfectly aligns with everything from the Common Core to, well… common sense.

Dave has also written a book, which you can find here.