Larry Paros has worked in the field of Education and Human services for more than 30 years both as a teacher and administrator. A pioneer in the creation of alternative settings, he is best known for his work with young people from varied ethnic and racial backgrounds in contexts of his own making.
At Yale University he headed up a unique project for talented students from poverty backgrounds. Later he directed two experimental schools which gained widespread recognition. Cited by the U.S. Office of Education as "exemplary," they were replicated at more than 125 sites nationwide.
A recognized authority on language, his published works include numerous articles and a book on education (The Black and the Blue), four books on language, The Great American Cliché (Workman) and The Erotic Tongue (Madrona and Holt), A Word with You America (Kvetch Press), Bawdy Language (Kvetch Press), and Smashcaps, a children's book (Avon).
His most recent creative works include two films: The Journey, an immigrant's trek to America and Walk Right In, the story of the Yale Summer High School. He has appeared regularly in the Huffington Post and currently hosts insomanywords.net, a unique approach to the study of words and word origins using a comic book format.
At age 85, he can currently be found at his home in Kirkland WA where together with his cat Tai, he indulges himself in crosswords, etymology, neuroscience, and politics.