J. M. Beach is currently a lecturer at the University of Texas, San Antonio and at Austin Community College. He has advanced degrees in English, History, Philosophy, and Education. He has been a teacher and educational administrator for over fifteen years. Beach has taught many subjects in the Humanities to a broad range of students, from pre-school all the way to university, in public and private schools, in the U.S., South Korea, and China. Previously Beach was a Lecturer at Oregon State University, the University of California, Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, and at several community colleges in Southern California and Central Texas. As a social entrepreneur, Beach is engaged in educational reform by re-imagining the text book. Besides his 21st Century Literacy project, he is currently working on other interactive textbooks that will be freely available on the web.Beach's scholarly research focuses on several distinct, but interrelated subjects: The philosophy of knowledge, the science of culture and social institutions, the history and philosophy of education, and literature. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Council for the Teachers of English (NCTE), among other scholarly associations. Beach is also a published poet. Links to his books, articles, and conference papers can be found at his website at www.jmbeach.com. Follow his blogs at jmbeach.blogspot.com and 21stcenturycanon.blogspot.com. View his open and interactive textbook 21st Century Literacy at www.21centurylit.org