In my work as an educator and education writer I have been influenced by many thinkers, especially Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, an early 20th century Japanese education reformer. His theory of soka, or “value-creation” has had a profound influence on my work in education. Other influences in this regard are Paulo Freire, the late Brazilian education reformer, John Dewey, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (his great book on education, Emile), Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, the 18th/19th century educationist and father of child-centered learning, and Friedrich Froebel, a Pestalozzi disciple and the originator of Kindergarten, and many others. As a lover of literature, philosophy and the social sciences my influences are many and growing all the time, but I am not as heavy as all of this implies. I am a husband and father of three, a school teacher, a lover of hikes in both city and country, a drinker of fine teas and single malt scotch, a fan of science fiction and fantasy, a huge film buff and all-around decent fellow.