The book ‘Teacher Tales’ is published in the series ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’. It is a collection of 101 inspirational stories from great teachers. These stories are written by American teachers who are awarded with ‘2009 National Teacher of the Year’ and ‘2009 State Teacher of the Year’.
Anthony J. Mullen, 2009 National Teacher of the Year writes in his ‘Foreword’ to the book: “Teacher Tales is such an important and timely book written by and for teachers. It is a different type of book because it does not try to promote a new method of pedagogy or try to reinvent the wheel. This book is about the heart and soul of teaching and why we have committed our lives to helping children. It is filled with wonderful stories about teachers and children. Some of the stories will make you laugh and some of the stories will make you cry. A few will make you want to scream at an educational bureaucracy seemingly blind to the needs of children and teachers. I proposed the idea to the 2009 State Teachers of the Year and the response was anonymous: We need this type of book! Writing a story for this book became a means for them to express their passion for teaching and restoring the value of teachers in our lives.”
The book is divided into 11 parts. They are:
1. Why we teach
2. First year tales
3. Learning from the kids
4. Great ideas
5. Thanks I needed that
6. That was embarrassing
7. Touched by a student
8. The teacher who changed my life
9. Tough kids
10. Reconnecting
11. Reflections on being a teacher.
Each story consists of 2-3 pages. Each story tells us the day to day experiences of classroom teaching. No teacher tries to list his lifetime achievements, but narrates an incident that inspires us. You won’t be able to put down the stories about new and experienced teachers, tough kids and sweet kids, funny and embarrassing moments, amazing connections and relationships, and all the ups and downs of being a teacher today. Some of the titles of the stories tell us the content of the book: ‘Destined to teach’, ‘A lesson for life’, ‘Life lessons from my students’, ‘The healing power of children’, ‘Making a difference in our community’, ‘Blessed to be a teacher’, ‘The power of belief’, ‘The naughty kid’, ‘Class room fun’, ‘Full of surprises’, ‘Teaching the teacher’, ‘The gift of self-esteem’, ‘A teacher’s influence’, ‘A tale of two students’, ‘Becoming an educator’, ‘More than math’, ‘Making a difference’, ‘Secrets students keep’, ‘A greater purpose’.
In the very first story the author narrates a suicide attempt of a girl. He rescues that girl. After narrating the incident, he says “My students suffer from depression, anxiety and psychosis. Some are lonely, some are sad, some are angry and some are frightened. But all risk falling down unless we are there to catch them.” One story reveals about a teacher accidentally showing topless dancers in an educational video about Paris. Another story tells about a teacher helping a second grade student writing letters to her soldier father and watching their cheerful reunion. In another incident a teacher receives an email from a student. The student tells that she was a bit of scoundrel. Everybody knew she was in to a lot of bad things. But the teacher expected a lot from her and believed in her ability. So she learned how to be responsible, confident and respect authority. Eventually, she earned a Doctorate Degree.
-Gnaneswara T N, Assistant Professor, GFGC Jalahalli, Raichur Dist., Karnataka
Anthony J. Mullen, 2009 National Teacher of the Year writes in his ‘Foreword’ to the book: “Teacher Tales is such an important and timely book written by and for teachers. It is a different type of book because it does not try to promote a new method of pedagogy or try to reinvent the wheel. This book is about the heart and soul of teaching and why we have committed our lives to helping children. It is filled with wonderful stories about teachers and children. Some of the stories will make you laugh and some of the stories will make you cry. A few will make you want to scream at an educational bureaucracy seemingly blind to the needs of children and teachers. I proposed the idea to the 2009 State Teachers of the Year and the response was anonymous: We need this type of book! Writing a story for this book became a means for them to express their passion for teaching and restoring the value of teachers in our lives.”
The book is divided into 11 parts. They are:
1. Why we teach
2. First year tales
3. Learning from the kids
4. Great ideas
5. Thanks I needed that
6. That was embarrassing
7. Touched by a student
8. The teacher who changed my life
9. Tough kids
10. Reconnecting
11. Reflections on being a teacher.
Each story consists of 2-3 pages. Each story tells us the day to day experiences of classroom teaching. No teacher tries to list his lifetime achievements, but narrates an incident that inspires us. You won’t be able to put down the stories about new and experienced teachers, tough kids and sweet kids, funny and embarrassing moments, amazing connections and relationships, and all the ups and downs of being a teacher today. Some of the titles of the stories tell us the content of the book: ‘Destined to teach’, ‘A lesson for life’, ‘Life lessons from my students’, ‘The healing power of children’, ‘Making a difference in our community’, ‘Blessed to be a teacher’, ‘The power of belief’, ‘The naughty kid’, ‘Class room fun’, ‘Full of surprises’, ‘Teaching the teacher’, ‘The gift of self-esteem’, ‘A teacher’s influence’, ‘A tale of two students’, ‘Becoming an educator’, ‘More than math’, ‘Making a difference’, ‘Secrets students keep’, ‘A greater purpose’.
In the very first story the author narrates a suicide attempt of a girl. He rescues that girl. After narrating the incident, he says “My students suffer from depression, anxiety and psychosis. Some are lonely, some are sad, some are angry and some are frightened. But all risk falling down unless we are there to catch them.” One story reveals about a teacher accidentally showing topless dancers in an educational video about Paris. Another story tells about a teacher helping a second grade student writing letters to her soldier father and watching their cheerful reunion. In another incident a teacher receives an email from a student. The student tells that she was a bit of scoundrel. Everybody knew she was in to a lot of bad things. But the teacher expected a lot from her and believed in her ability. So she learned how to be responsible, confident and respect authority. Eventually, she earned a Doctorate Degree.
-Gnaneswara T N, Assistant Professor, GFGC Jalahalli, Raichur Dist., Karnataka
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