Dan Tricarico is The Zen Teacher. He has been a member of the West Hills High School English Department for over twenty years.  He is author of The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom and the teaching methods text You're a Teacher. . .So Act Like One!  Improving Your Stage Presence in the Classroom (Writer's Club Press 2002). Additionally, he spent a full year as columnist for the writing website Scribophile. In his spare time, he enjoys writing fiction, listening to music (especially Roots Rock and The Blues), reading mystery novels, staring out of windows, and watching movies.  One of Dan's first loves is writing poetry, and he has published many poems both in print and on-line. In this episode you will learn: How his background in drama influenced him as an English teacher The way in which Jane Schaffer trained him to be a better teacher How an entire department can overcome teacher isolation What works well when teaching poetry and novels Why spontaneity is so important in the classroom What true teaching means, and how that is different from what many teachers have been told Why the best professional development costs very little and why everyone should read Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life How Weebly makes it easy to start a teacher blog The way in which The Zen Teacher can help educators avoid burnout and focus on well-being. Follow Dan on Twitter @thezenteacher and read The Zen Teacher blog The post #79 Dan Tricarico — The Zen Teacher appeared first on Talks with Teachers.