Ben Dexter

Hi there, I’m Ben and I’ll be working with you for these next couple of weeks. I live and teach in Tuluksak, Alaska. It’s a small village on the Kuskokwim River, about 60 miles upstream of Bethel. If you magically walked 400 miles west of here, you’d probably end up pretty close to my house.

I teach high school Language Arts, which is a pretty great job. I recommend it to anyone who is interested at all. Sure, the idea of spending the next 30 years of my life in a high school is a little cringe-inducing, but I just take it one day at a time.

In addition to being the most amazing Language Arts teacher you’ll probably ever have, I also coach volleyball. Mix 6 volleyball, to be exact. That’s where you have boys and girls on the same team. If you’ve never lived in a village in rural Alaska, you’ve probably never heard of it.

Occasionally I find myself not at school and have to find something else to keep me busy. That’s when I read, listen to and make music, and go crazy about sports. My favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and John Steinbeck. I like all kinds of music, for some reason a disproportionate amount of it is Canadian, though. I play guitar and banjo pretty well, and a few other instruments not so well. As far as sports, I prefer baseball and hockey. Extra credit to those who figure out my favorite and least favorite teams.