Teacher Stories

Eric Hall, an award-winning elementary school teacher from Northern Michigan, shares a touching story about a fishing trip he took in the dark of night with one of his students. “That night,” he writes, “we didn't catch...

“You can take all of my belongings. You can make me carry my life in a trash bag. I can be homeless. You can even take my family from me if that's what you must do, but you can't take Monica from Monica.” Those are the...

This story starts with a bag of shoes that helped a school community heal after the tragic deaths of two students. That story blossomed into a unique project called the “Shoe Club” that fosters empathy and breaks...

Meet Adrian Maclin, the Tennessee high school music teacher honored as Music Educator of the Year at the 2025 Grammys. In this episode, you’ll hear the extraordinary music from his students that earned him this...

This teacher story is about two high school students who learned life-changing lessons, not in a classroom with four walls, desks, and chairs, but in a much bigger classroom - the Alaska wilderness. Keisha Orozco and...

Author Bob Katz shares the extraordinary story of a gifted 4th-grade teacher named Elaine Moore, the central character of his book Elaine’s Circle: A Teacher, a Student, a Classroom, and One Unforgettable Year. One...

Clarence Page has been writing for the Chicago Tribune for over 50 years and has been the recipient of numerous journalism awards. Now a columnist, he says his job is to explain, not just report the news. "Our own...

This story is about a high school teacher's extraordinary efforts to support her students and her belief that relationships must come first. It's about a parent who takes the time to acknowledge this teacher's...

As the 2023 Grammy Award-winning Music Educator of the Year, Pamela Dawson has made it her mission to harness the power of music to connect students with diverse backgrounds and skill levels. With over 27 years of...

America’s culture wars are driving great teachers out of the classroom, exacerbating a shortage that has reached critical levels in most states. The story of Willie Carver, an extraordinary English and French high...

na'im madyun reads a short story about a second grader named Ellis and her friend Coolidge, who prayed that their 3rd grade teacher WOULDN'T be the aging Mrs. Nimble. The prayer wasn't answered, but by the end of the...

Julie Hasson and Ken Futernick discuss some of the powerful lessons learned from the teacher stories she writes about in her new book, Safe, Seen, and Stretched - the Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students' Lives...

Guests representing diverse political perspectives find some common ground on these controversial questions: - What does high-quality history and civics education look like in a democratic society? - What should...

Is it appropriate – even a good thing in this time of intense political division -- for social studies teachers to bring politics, current events, and highly controversial issues into the classroom? Diana Hess is a...

A junior high school teacher, her school principal, and a teacher educator weigh in on critical questions about history and civics education in the era of fake news, social media, and heightened political pressure...