A person, especially a young teenager, can rise above criticism at school and be a good, successful student. The same can occur at home while the student remains respectful to his or her parents. Paul E. Vander Wege was born and raised in Holland, Michigan. After high school, he graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and began a successful thirty-five-year teaching career as a middle school language arts teacher. He also earned a master's degree from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. After retiring from teaching, he became interested in writing and enrolled in several writing courses. He is the father of three children and stepfather to seven.