Publication: Star Courier
Date: January 5, 2007
Circulation: 6,000
Back to Press Room
National cartoonist addresses Stark County teaching staff
By Tammy Wilkinson of the Star Courier
Stark County High School science teacher Al Curry takes part in an exercise that required participants to see how many large marshmallows they could stuff in their mouth and still speak clearly. At left is cartoonist and author Jason Kotecki, who conducted a teacher institute Wednesday at Stark County High School.
TOULON — Jason Kotecki put smiles on the faces of Stark County teachers Wednesday.
Kotecki, a nationally syndicated cartoonist and author from Madison, Wis., was the keynote speaker at a teacher’s institute at Stark County High School. Kotecki shares key strategies for what he describes as an “Adultitis-free” lifestyle.
In Toulon Wednesday, he was accompanied by his wife, Kim.
“Stressed, depressed and dull – that’s someone with adultitis,” Kotecki said. “Do you know anyone like that?”
According to Kotecki, people in every profession suffer with stress-related problems. He encouraged the teachers to uncover and embrace strategies from their childhood to prevent or treat “Adultitis,” an epidemic affecting almost every household in the U.S.
Kotecki’s comic strip, “Kim and Jason,” debuted in 2000 and offers a childlike look at life.
Kotecki, who describes himself as the “champion of childhood,” is no stranger to the Stark County School District. In the fall of 2003 he presented a cartooning workshop for the district’s elementary students. He is a nephew of longtime Stark County elementary teacher Julie Yedinak.
Kotecki is also the author of “Escape Adulthood: Eight Secrets from Childhood for the Stressed-Out Grown-Up.”
“I believe this program is the best prescription for busy, responsibility-juggling, plate-spinning, overwhelmed, and unenergized people,” Kotecki said. “That describes just about everyone these days.”
©2007 Star Courier