WYATT, Robert Lee III 1940-

PERSONAL: Born January 27, 1940, in Grandfield, OK; son of Robert Lee, Jr. (a farmer and rancher) and Melba Ruth (Green) Wyatt; married Louise Carole Bard, October 28, 1961; children: Melanie Dawn, Robert Lee IV. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: University of Oklahoma, B.A., 1963, M.Ed., 1988, Ph.D., 1990. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Southern Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Painting in watercolors, acting and directing in the theater, talking.

ADDRESSES: Home—2331 Stephanie Cir., Ada, OK 74820. Office—College of Education, East Central University, Box J-1, Ada, OK 74820. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: High school English teacher in Las Cruces, NM, 1963-69; General Dynamics Corp., Fort Worth, TX, writer and director of airplane construction films, 1969-70; high school teacher of English, journalism, and drama, Grandfield, OK, 1970-87; East Central University, Ada, OK, professor of education, 1990—. Big Pasture News, owner and publisher, 1976-86.

MEMBER: National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for Social Studies, Association of Teacher Educators.

AWARDS, HONORS: Named Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year, 1985.

WRITINGS:

Devol: Gateway to the Big Pasture, Walsworth Publishing (Marceline, MO), 1974.

Grandfield: Hub of the Big Pasture, Walsworth Publishing (Marceline, MO), Volume I, 1975, Volume II, 1976.

The History of the Haverstock Tent Show, Southern Illinois University Press (Carbondale, IL), 1997.

(With Sandra Looper) So You Have to Have a Portfolio: A Teacher's Guide to Preparation and Presentation, Corwin (Thousand Oaks, CA), 1999.

(With Elaine White) Making Your First Year a Success: The Secondary Teacher's Survival Guide, Corwin (Thousand Oaks, CA), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Two young adult novels, Queen Victoria's Jubilee and Last Drag down Main Street; a third novel, Seven Kids, A Model T Ford, and Shall We Gather at the River; revising So You Have to Have a Portfolio: A Teacher's Guide to Preparation and Presentation.

SIDELIGHTS: Robert Lee Wyatt III once told CA: "I write for self-fulfillment. I love to tell stories, and writing preserves the stories. My primary influences are my family and my students' lives. I do occasionally pick up the shred of a story from a news article, which I file for future reference.

"I write on things I know about. I think that is the secret. I do research for accuracy, but I know my subject before I begin to write. Taking bare facts and then weaving around them is good writing. I like to read it, so that is how I like to write."