The Ones We Remember

Scholars Reflect on Teachers Who Made a Difference

Edited by:
Frank Pajares, Emory University
Tim Urdan, Santa Clara University

A volume in the series: Adolescence and Education. Editor(s): Daniela K. DiGiacomo, University of Kentucky. Erica Van Steenis, University of California Irvine.

Published 2008

Paulo Freire wrote that “sometimes a simple, almost insignificant gesture on the part of a teacher can have a profound formative effect on the life of a student.” Sometimes, of course, this formative effect is not the result of a simple, isolated gesture but rather of a proactive and sustained series of gestures on the part of a teacher. Many of us have been deeply influenced by one or more teachers who have exercised a formative effect in our development as students and individuals. We remember these teachers with fondness, tell their stories to our own children, think of them with affection, respect, gratitude, even reverence. Sometimes, we recognized this influence as it was happening, and we grew close to these remarkable individuals, keeping them in our lives even after we graduated from their classes. Often, however, they themselves were unaware of the influence they exercised over us, for it was not until years passed that we realized their effect. If time and distance did not prevent it, perhaps we found our way back to these educators and shared with them our appreciation and gratitude.

In this volume, outstanding scholars in the fields of adolescence and education provide short stories describing their most memorable teacher. Some provide the story on its own; other follow it with a brief analysis drawn from theory and research in education, psychology, and human development to identify key concepts and principles that apply in explaining why the selected teacher was so effective and memorable. Some write about one specific teacher; others write about the qualities that they believe contribute to teaching excellence, including anecdotes from various teachers to support the qualities they identified. Each tells the story with an eye toward being accessible to a wide audience of readers. One need not be an academic, or an expert in education or psychology, to understand and find meaning in these stories. In essence, these are stories and analyses that capture just what it is that makes a particular teacher, as our title describes, unforgettable. This book would be excellent for teacher preparation courses, educational psychology courses, and for anyone who is interested in the art and science of teaching.

CONTENTS
Foreword. Learning Not to Be a Child: Lessons from a Master Teacher, Tim Urdan. Passing the Torch: The Legacy of Inspirational Teachers, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Tears of a Teacher, Mimi Bong. The Memorable Sister Candida and Her Passion for Poetry, Revathy Kumar. The Art and Heart of the Skilled Teacher: A Personal Reflection, Julian G. Elliott. In Search of Miss Steepleton, Vanessa Siddle Walker. Mrs. Miller, Frank Pajares. An Amotivated Adolescence: How One Rugby Game and Two Teachers Changed My Self-Beliefs and the Course of My Academic Life, Robert Klassen. Mr. Webb’s Zoology Class: How One Teacher Motivated and Transformed High School Students, David A. Bergin. On Relating to a Special Teacher, Lyn Corno. I Dared to Proclaim: The Influence of African American Women Teachers, Jacqueline Jordan Irvine. A Teacher’s Influence: A Conversation, Avi Kaplan. “I Will Not Let This Be an Intellectual Wasteland”: The Legacy and Limitations of an Inspiring Teacher, Michael Middleton. F Equals Your Mother and the Continuing Saga of Sherman and Mr. Peabody: Or What I Learned in High School Physics, Allison J. Kelaher Young. Teacher Influences on Students’ Learning: High School Experiences of Iranian Students, Farideh Salili. Too Good To Last: The Short But Inspiring Career of an Autonomy-Supportive English Teacher, Richard M. Ryan. A Teacher’s Son: The Learning-Instruction Process Up Close and Personal, Barry J. Zimmerman. Stories of Teaching: Four Lessons, Anita Woolfolk Hoy. You Must Be One of Mine, Gio Valiante. Two Teachers Who Wanted Students to Think , William Crain. Strangers, Mentors, and Freud, Daniel K. Lapsley. A Culture and its Representatives, David C. Berliner. How to Become the Teacher Who Makes the Difference: An Anti- Romantic Theory of Pedagogy—Principles, Not Personalities, Marshall Gregory.

REVIEWS
"The sixth book in a series regarding adolescents, Pajares and Urdan requested educators and professionals with a specialty in adolescents to reflect upon their most memorable teacher. This open request resulted in 23 vignettes of teachers have a range of emotions, experiences, and memories. The Ones We Remember has a wide range of appeal to educators, pre-service teachers and others who work or live with adolescents." Jennifer R. Fruend-Moberly & Deborah A. Moberly University of Missouri & University of Memphis