PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
ELIZABETH ANN KNOWLES
Age: 75
Lives in: Port St. Lucie
Occupation: Retired curriculum specialist and teacher;
business owner; author
Family: One son who lives with his family in Seattle,
Washington
Education: Bachelor of Arts in elementary education;
master’s in reading; Ph.D. in curriculum development
and systemic change
Hobbies: Reading, travel
Who inspires me: “Good leaders. I had a principal at
one school who was well organized, who ‘got’ education,
who was sympathetic but could also take charge.”
deeper into the brain,” she says.
Covering the material in five hour-long sessions, Knowles
gives presentations at clubhouses, churches and schools. She
also takes individual clients.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Knowles says.
“People think a pill or supplement will do it, but you have to
do your due diligence. You can build memory. I have proof,
testimonials from people who have seen their focus improve.”
One of the ways Knowles keeps her own thinking sharp
is by writing. While in education, she wrote and co-wrote
16 books, one of the most popular being Boys and Literacy:
Practical Strategies for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents. Others
encourage the use of picture books in middle and high
schools and boosting STEAM programs through literature
and language arts.
Knowles travels every chance she gets, perhaps because as
a child, excursions were limited.
“After World War II, my father didn’t want to go anywhere.”
Knowles put together four booklets cataloging her trips,
notes and photographs. However, another booklet had to
wait until her father’s death.
“He never talked about the war, but he kept a diary I knew
nothing about,” she recalls. “He helped liberate a concentration
camp.”
Knowles researched, recorded and found photographs to
add. She took her mother on cruises, visiting places her husband
had seen during the war before she died at age 99.
Knowles participates in three book clubs.
“My mother read to me; we read together. Going to the
library was a big part of my childhood. I did the same with
my son.”
Whether reading for career or pleasure, Knowles places a
high priority on starting young and staying with it throughout
one’s life.
“If you’re well-read, you have a better vocabulary, better
ideas for creative writing, more of a knowledge base, more
trivia tucked away.”
That’s good advice, as clear as the words on a page. E
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Port St. Lucie Magazine 39
Something most people don’t know about me: “I
lived in Milan, Italy, for a year.”
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