Following his graduation as an English Literature major at Kenyon College in 1974, Peter Smagorinsky got credentialed to teach English at the University of Chicago. He taught English at Westmont, Barrington, and Oak Park & River Forest High Schools from 1977-1990, coaching track and basketball as well. He has taught in the English Education programs at the University of Oklahoma (1990-1998) and University of Georgia (1998-present) since receiving his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1989. He has written and presented widely in state, national, and international publications and conferences on a variety of topics. These include literacy across the high school curriculum, the teaching and learning of the English curriculum, the dynamics of small group and whole class discussions of literature, the composition of nonverbal texts across the high school curriculum, the discourse of character education, and related topics. His writing has appeared in English Journal, Social Studies, The Reading Teacher, and other journals; and he has published books through Heinemann and the National Council of Teachers of English press. He has won a number of awards from The University of Georgia, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the American Educational Research Association for his teaching, service, and research.