Meet Mr. Weber

Lee Weber has been a secondary social studies teacher since 1974. He has taught in three different school settings, including a small rural school in South Dakota, a large suburban school in Nebraska, and since 1991 at the Malcolm Price Laboratory School at the University of Northern Iowa.

Since earning his MA degree from the University of South Dakota in 1978, he has earned 43 graduate hours of credit from 9 different universities. He has 15 published works, including articles in three different national journals. He has conducted workshops at two international conferences; at over a dozen regional and national conferences;and at over 30 sites across Iowa. He has 14 teaching awards, including the Cooper Foundation Award and the Peter Kiewit Award while teaching in Nebraska, and the Iowa State Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award in 1996. During the 2004-2005 academic year, Lee was awarded the University of Northern Iowa College of Education "Excellence in Teaching" Award. Lee and his wife Lou have five children who have attended seven different schools, so he understands education from a variety of perspectives.

In 2008 Lee coached the Northern University High School Golf Team to a state championship, the first in school history.

When asked about what he loves and hates, Lee replied, "I love God. I love my wife and children. I love teaching. I love high school kids....really, I do. I love Nebraska football, Hawkeye basketball, and golf whenever I can play. I love a snowfall on Christmas Eve, a sunset over the ocean, the crisp feeling the night of a fall football game, a good concert, a good drama, a good novel, and laughing about stories of our kids growing up.

"I hate flies in summer, overprotective packaging, drivers with cell phones, spammed emails, and waiting for people to show up on time. I hate lying, cheating, and stealing; I hate leaving messages for people who don't call back. I hate short doorways (I'm 6'4" tall), shoveling snow, and phone calls in the middle of the night. I hate infidelity, hypocrisy, and making bad decisions because somebody might sue us if we make the right one."

Lee's favorite color, of course, is red, as in "Go, Big Red." His favorite season is fall; his favorite flower is a rose. His favorite place to visit is Washington, D.C. His favorite TV show is "Law and Order," which he recommends to his American Government and Criminal Justice students. His favorite books include Herman Wouk's "Winds of War," "War and Remembrance," and "The Caine Mutiny," as well as any Tom Clancy novel. His favorite movies include "Jaws," "Hoosiers," "The Color of Money," "The In-Laws," and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." (Yes, he believes in life out there.)