Bill Brown is East High’s Personality of the Week, 1979

Mr. Bill Brown
By Jim Harris
written in spring 1979
“Education is a tool and tools are worthless unless they are put to use,” reflects Mr. Bill Brown. Mr. Brown’s style of teaching reflects exactly what he says.
In his teaching of electronics, sheet metal, and introduction to woods and metal, he tries to stay away from textbooks as much as he can. He feels that students learn better when they can use their own hands and learn by practical experience.
Mr. Brown is a 1943 graduate of Birch Tree High School, Birch Tree, Missouri. After high school he attended Army Air Force radar schools for two years. After obtaining the electronics knowledge he needed from the Army Air Force radar schools, he became a Bell Telephone linesman. Within a few years he owned and operated an electrical contracting business.
Mr. Brown obtained a bachelor’s degree from Upper Iowa University, with a major in English, a double minor in political in political science, and a major in religion. After obtaining a master of divinity degree from the University of Dubuque, he became a Methodist minister for thirteen years. In 1978 Mr. Brown completed a second master’s degree at Northern Arizona University.
Mr. Brown married to Jo-Ann Brown and has five children, all of whom have graduated from college except for one still attending.
Jewelry is one of Mr. Brown’s interests. An article about his jewelry has appeared on the back page of the Des Moines Tribune. Mr. Brown also enjoys sculpturing and home remodeling.
Mr. Brown admires the late President Lincoln because of all his accomplishments. He also admires very highly Dr. Robert Healy, Handicapped Person Of Iowa 1978, because of his ability to overcome the odds of being handicapped.
Mr. Brown is very much concerned with his teaching and wants to help kids as much as they are willing to help themselves. He feels that education is a person’s most important asset, and that it should be used to improve one’s quality of life.