Employment History:
Cleveland State University; Illinois State University; University of Houston-Victoria; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Published Works:
Co-author, “Reading Assessment and Instruction: Reexamining our Thinking,” Teaching Exceptional Children (2000); Co-author, “Integrating Tradebooks into Classroom Instruction: How to Implement, Maintain, and Evaluate,” Illinois English Bulletin (1994); Co-author, “Kaleidoscope: Language-based activities for young children” (1988); Co-author, “Teachers Developing Ownership of Classroom Research: The Metcalf Model,” Greater Washington Reading Council 1986)

Public Speaking Experience:

Why He is an Expert:
I guide the readers, even beginning readers, to make sense of the printed word. I work from the inside out of the reading/writing process in guiding literacy learners to construct meaning.

Best Advice:
Professionally, be open to sound theory and that sound theory is practical. And knowing and understanding sound theory are important because teachers should readily be able to explain why they might be teaching what they are teaching, and the knowledge gives them a stronger base and foundation.

Passionate about:
I am most concerned with readers and writers when they are at a young age.

Biography Excerpt:
Many teachers describe the instant a child begins to grasp a concept as the “ah ha” moment, one in which a proverbial light turns on and illuminates the rest of the child’s educational path. These moments are to be treasured as educators guide students toward scholarship at any point in their lives. Dr. David “Tuck” Tucker, professor emeritus from Illinois State University and presently an adjunct instructor at Cleveland State University as well as a literacy consultant, earned his nickname because his teaching style reminded students of an athletic coach attempting to lead his team to victory. Throughout 47 years in the field, he taught in elementary schools and at the college level, and made quite the interesting observation: 18-year-old freshmen in college and first-grade students had one thing in common — both were physically and emotionally separated from their parents and had to learn how to make it on their own. Although children today are thought to be far more sophisticated than kids in previous years, the event of embarking on a new educational journey on the first day of school will forever be colored with innocence and wonder.

     

Cambridge Who's Who: What short-term and long-term career goals are you currently pursuing?  
DR. DAVID L “TUCK” TUCKER :  I wish I could have a greater impact on the training of primary grade teachers in reading and writing instruction in classrooms. I would like to increase the teachers’ knowledge base of the understanding of the reading, writing, and spelling process, and the major and important role of language in these processes.

Did you ever consider pursuing a different career path or another profession? If yes, how did you end up working in your current field?
I could have very easily become a personnel director and I initially considered it. I grew up on a farm in south central Illinois. While I certainly respect farm life and could certainly do work on a farm, I never wanted to be a farmer. Going to college was a dream, and while I didn’t have the finances to pursue that dream, somehow I did attend college. After about a year and a half in college, an opportunity became available to explore the field of teaching.

Who have been your mentors or people who have greatly influenced you?
Will Shoemaker, a gentleman in the true sense, who was in my master’s program at the University of Illinois, was a mentor to me. He was a professor in guidance and counseling, but he got us to ask questions from the “other side.” Bill Martin Jr., who wrote “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” was a mentor because when I was a young professional, he came into one of my presentations. When it was over, he shared with me what he felt was valuable in my presentation, and what I should continue doing in my presentation. Phyllis Lynch was a consultant from Scholastic who encouraged me to maintain my ability to explain and bridge theory with practice as I continued working with teachers.