About Michael Yeakey

My wife Kathy Nofziger and I are parents of four adult children. We are long-time members of North Goshen Mennonite Church and enjoy gardening, reading, and visiting. I am an avid cyclist and operate a side business repairing bicycles out of my garage. I am originally from Elkhart, Indiana, but have lived in Kansas, Chicago, California, Montana, and Colorado. 

What is your philosophy of teaching?

Teaching reading and writing is about developing the mind to be both critical and compassionate. This is the greatest joy of my professional life.

What kind of classroom experience do you try to create for your students?

I attempt to provide a variety of opportunities for learning, from individual study to small-group and large-group projects.

How do you keep students engaged in their learning experience?

I tell really bad jokes and weave into discussions lessons from outside the subject area.

What qualities or life skills do you wish to impart to your students?

Critical thinking, awareness of audience for composition and speech, ability to research anything. 

What fuels your passion and drive to be an educator?

As a Christian, I believe the truth "will out," as Shakespeare says. I enjoy finding the truths of  human experience in the fiction and nonfiction that I teach. 

When you aren't teaching, what can we find you doing?

Reading, cycling, and doing home improvement.