Mary Laine Yarber

(excerpt from publisher's materials) Mary Yarber is an author, educational consultant, and 20-year classroom teacher. She currently teaches in Southern California.
Nicknamed the "Guru of Grammar," Mary Yarber (also Mary Laine Yarber) has gained a broad cult following for adding humor and sizzle to the study of grammar and writing. Yarber has published nearly 200 articles on education and parenting for the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Her poems have appeared in more than forty magazines, under a pseudonym. Countless students in colleges and universities nationwide have used Yarber's friendly and entertaining textbook, REVIEWING BASIC GRAMMAR: A GUIDE TO WRITING PARAGRAPHS. High school students use the book to prep for the SAT, ACT, and graduation exams. The text is also the bedrock of numerous "English as a Second Language" courses. The book is published by the world's largest publisher, Pearson / Longman. Now in its eighth edition, REVIEWING BASIC GRAMMAR: A GUIDE TO WRITING PARAGRAPHS (2009), co-authored with Robert E.Yarber, is available at Amazon.Com and other online bookstores.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA and a Master of Arts from Smith College, Massachusetts.
Mary Yarber began her career in writing at age 17, as an intern in the TV newsroom of San Diego’s NBC affiliate, KNSD-TV. She continued to intern, then filled in as an official producer, during summers and other vacations throughout her college years. She researched and produced reports for the hard-nosed consumer affairs segment “You Ought to Know,” which won an Emmy Award. Yarber helped conduct interviews, shoot footage, test new products, expose consumer fraud, and explain medical breakthroughs. Yarber also interned in the TV station's hard news department, covering crimes, plane crashes, court cases, and city politics. She logged countless hours in the news helicopter during several brushfire seasons.
As an anthropology major at UCLA, Mary Yarber had a summer Research Fellowship at the San Diego Wild Animal Park; her observations of gorilla diet and behavior contributed to a renovation of the lowland gorilla exhibit enclosure which still stands today.
Under the guidance of archaeologist Diane Barbolla, Mary Yarber participated in a massive excavation of the Presidio Park site in San Diego, the original location of Father Junipero Serra’s first California mission. She dug, cleaned, and catalogued artifacts of the outpost where Spanish soldiers and missionaries and San Diego Indians lived, worked, and died.
While earning her teaching credential, Mary Yarber worked in educational software development, creating tutorial programs in math and reading. Her employer, Education Systems Technology Corporation (now Jostens, Inc.), was one of the world’s first educational software providers.
In addition to teaching middle and high school, Yarber has taught English as a Second Language to adults. In 2005 she designed, funded, and launched a Distance Learning program for the Santa Monica Adult Education Center. The program enables students to take free home courses in English, parenting, citizenship exam preparation, and other subjects. She has also served as master teacher for intern teachers during summer terms at Smith College, Massachusetts.
Yarber lives in the Hollywood Hills. In her spare time, she studies flamenco guitar and does 5K races with her German Shepherd. She likes to read, ski, see friends and family, and try new restaurants. She recently skied Arctic Norway and wants to some day ski the North Pole.
Yarber attends three book clubs and believes that everyone should belong to at least one.

Don't remember me? It figures: I was a meek, frumpy putz ... played flute and bass guitar and cymbals in the bands ... didn't have my own car yet. Ate lunch alone.
I transferred to Crawford from Hoover in my senior year, so it was a bit late to get a "gang of pals" together. But I recall that the teachers and the few students I had nerve enough to talk to were friendly and welcoming, and I am grateful for that. It'll be fun to finally meet my fellow students at the 30th reunion. :-)
P.S. Just bought a new bass guitar -- guess that part of my life hasn't changed!