Hi ! My name is Tom Brown and I am a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher at Seitz Middle School in Riverview, Michigan. I've been teaching in the Detroit, Michigan area since 1970 and became a teacher for the Riverview Community School District in 1973. I graduated from Allen Park High School in 1966. I earned an A.A. degree from Henry Ford Community College and a B.S. and M.A. degrees from Eastern Michigan University.
I have had the pleasure and honor of teaching with the best staff and in the best school for the past 33 1/2 years. I am extremely honored about being selected into the book Who's Who Among America's Teachers. This school year (2005-2006) is my seventh time out of nine publishings that a former student selected me for inclusion of this national honor. Because I was the sponsor for our School's Junior Honor Society for ten years, I was awarded an "Honorary Membership" into the Red Oaks Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society on June 3, 1998. In May of 2001, I was recognized as "Special Educator" by our School Districts Special Education Director - Mr. Howard Berlin!
I have been married for thirty-five years. My wife Cheryl and I have two wonderful daughters Michelle and Kelly. Both of my daughters recently married. My youngest daughter Kelly married on August 16, 2002 and Michelle married on September 21, 2002. Cheryl and I are very happy and proud about being grandparents to two beautiful little girls Emma Ardis (Kelly's daughter) and Zoe Elizabeth (Michelle's daughter).
I'm also a Vietnam Era Veteran and belong to the Vietnam Veterans of America Plymouth-Canton, Michigan. During my two years of active service I was extremely lucky to stay in the U.S. during the time of the Viet Nam War. In my first year, I was assigned to work on the Pershing I Nuclear Missile at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. During my final year at Fort Sill, I had the honor of being selected to be the personal "Aide" for Colonel Parker, III Army Corps Commanding Officer.
My hobbies include watching University Michigan football, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, and the Detroit Red Wings, fishing, astronomy, computers, and music - playing the accordion and keyboards. I've been playing the accordion since I was seven years old. When I was fifteen, I joined a dance band and have been playing as a professional musician ever since with various bands and orchestras. My longest continuous gig was playing every Saturday night from 1972 - 1979 at the Riverview/Wyandotte Moose Club with a five piece dance band called The Highlanders. Playing with professional musicians twice my age was an extreme honor as well as a great learning experience. They taught me how to read music charts, change key signatures on the spot, and to play music from the "Big Band Era." But the band that I played with the longest is The Knight Kats.
The Knight Kats 2005: Tom Brown (accordion and keyboards) Tom DeMartin (drums & vocals), Jim Stefan (guitar & vocals). This is the latest picture of us taken on December 30, 2005: 
. I started playing with the Knight Kats when I was in 11th grade and continued playing with them until I was drafted into the U.S. Army in December of 1970 after I had just graduated from Eastern Michigan University. I reformed the original Knight Kats band in 1979 and this time we played together for about seven years. If you look closely, you can see my wife Cheryl who was our female vocalist - lucky me! I have also played with other bands and orchestras in the Detroit area during the past forty years. Most of my recent musical engagements have been as a strolling accordionist. I have to give my mother credit and thanks for making me practice the accordion at least one hour every day and two hours on Saturday and Sunday - even during summer! Currently I am a member of both the American Accordinists' Association and the Michigan Accordion Society.
I have three heroes. Al Kaline who played right field for the Detroit Tigers, Art Van Damme who is the world's greatest jazz accordionist, and my father! I was the luckiest boy on my street because my father played baseball and football with all the neighborhood kids! He was our Scout Master, Little League Manager, and WYMCA bus driver/director. It was because of my dad that I decided to become a teacher since he was a social studies teacher and a principal for more than forty years with the Detroit Public Schools.
Quiz Star Online Quizzes & Tests This new online website will be used by me to help my students prepare for quizzes and tests for my classes.
Mr. Brown's Cyber School Home Page
Page created by: seitzteacher@yahoo.com
Changes last made on: Thursday, May 4, 2006
