I am a teacher by trade, and I have been involved in the education profession for nearly 30 years. Origin stories can be tricky, but I would say I started my teaching career washing dishes in a preschool. My first official teaching position was in Grapevine, Texas, where I taught 4th grade Math and Science. After a short stint teaching public speaking at a university, I went right back to K-12 teaching as a sixth- and third-grade teacher. My most recent involvement in the education profession has been as a teacher educator at Texas Christian University. I teach a lot of classes and do a lot of research, but my real interest is in telling the stories of teachers. Whether it's my own story or those of the talented educators I have gotten to know across the years, I want the world to see the human side of this profession. Teachers work hard, believe in what they do, and want the best for children. I can’t think of a better time than now to remind the world about who teachers really are.
I received my Ph.D. in Instructional Technology in 2009 from the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. I hold a Master's degree from Colorado State University and a Bachelor's from Utah State University. Before coming to TCU, I held positions at the University of Illinois Springfield and the University of North Texas. I taught public school for 8 years in Grapevine, Texas and Casper, Wyoming, my hometown.
I am currently a Professor of Professional Practice in the College of Education at TCU. My wife Gina is a Professor of Community and Public Health Nursing in the Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at TCU. We each started our Ph.D. on the same day, and we graduated at the exact same time. We couldn't even attend each other's hooding ceremony! Halfway through this adventure, we doubled our crew when our twin boys Samuel and Nathaniel burst onto the scene. They are now sixteen and enjoying their journey through high school. We're an active, outdoorsy bunch, and you can usually find us hiking, camping, biking, kayaking, backpacking, playing tennis or pickle ball, swimming, or skiing.
The most important things to me are my faith, my family, and my calling as an educator. Leaving the K-12 classroom for a career in higher education has not been a departure from teaching for me. I see it as a different way to influence the lives of students by preparing the teachers who will one day work with them. If this is not the information you were hoping for, you can just Google me. There aren’t too many Curby Alexanders out there!
