Showing titles in Educators

Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North’s greatest heroes: On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers.

In 1913, an unschooled young Indian clerk wrote a letter to G. H. Hardy, begging that preeminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. Hardy, realizing the letter was the work of a genius, arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. Thus began one of the most remarkable collaborations ever chronicled.

Listen as Frank tells in his own inimitable voice his story of how at the age of 19 he traveled from Limerick to New York in pursuit of the American dream. Despite the abundance of unsolicited advice he gets to "join the cops" and "stick to his own kind", Frank knows that he should educate himself and somehow rise above his circumstances.

An engaging, moving, and inspiring memoir, The Bee and the Acorn traces the journey of Wallace and her family to the historic Georgia coastal town of Savannah, where they set about creating a new university for the arts. The tiny college would be a radically different kind of institution, buzzing with progressive ideas about what education could be and what it should do for students. Nearly 40 years later, SCAD has become one of the largest and most highly regarded arts universities in the world.

How far would you go to stand by your conscience? In 1969, the Vietnam War rages, and Bruce Wasser—a 20-year-old Princeton student—receives a draft lottery number that all but guarantees his conscription. While his classmates debate politics in ivy-covered halls, Bruce faces a harrowing reality: enlist, flee, or take an unthinkable stand as a conscientious objector. With his father gone and no clear guidance, Bruce wrestles with the weight of moral courage, personal integrity, and the cost of defying expectations. Will he fight in a war he cannot support, or risk alienation from his ...

When Bo Seo was 8 years old, he and his family migrated from Korea to Australia. At the time, he did not speak English, and, unsurprisingly, struggled at school. But, then, in fifth grade, something happened to change his life: he discovered competitive debate. Immediately, he was hooked. It turned out, perhaps counterintuitively, that debating was the perfect activity for someone shy and unsure of himself. It became a way for Bo not only to find his voice, but to excel socially and academically. And he’s not the only one.

What do you do when life takes away everything you’ve worked for, including your voice—the very tool that defines you? In When It All Falls Apart, Robert B. Haase shares a deeply moving account of his journey through devastating challenges, including a life-changing cancer diagnosis, the loss of relationships, and the unraveling of long-held dreams. Yet, in the face of unimaginable hardship, Haase uncovers something extraordinary: the power of resilience, the importance of connection, and the beauty of hope. With raw honesty and unexpected humor, Haase opens a window into his darkest ...

Leslye Renee Kornegay, EdD, rose from being a housekeeper, to a director, to a doctor of education. Through those years, several platforms emerged that gave other voices for Black women across all professional genres to speak up about the "-isms," work and life struggles, challenges and barriers in the workplace. The rise of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, podcasts, YouTube, blogs, and private TV digital stations opened up a wealth of Black women's experiences that were not accessible before.

Adults often find it difficult to communicate with autistic students and try to “fix” them. But what if we found a way to help these kids use their natural gifts to convey their thoughts and feelings? What if the traditional structure of language prevents them from communicating the full depth of their experiences? What if the most effective and most immediate way for people on the spectrum to express themselves is through verse, which mirrors their sensory-rich experiences and patterned thoughts?

What happens when a teacher who spent decades in the inner city finds himself back in the affluent suburbs where he grew up? "From the Block to the Burbs" is a compelling examination of the changing landscape of American education, revealing the divides that exist in our schools and asking tough questions about the role of technology, the importance of connection, and what we risk losing in our quest for academic excellence.

From a young paperboy in Southern California to a visionary leader in education and business, David R. Jackson’s story is a testament to adventure, ambition, and perseverance.

A Heart Blown Open chronicles the extraordinary journey of Zen master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi, whose life landed him in prison long before he landed in a monastery. Experience the successes and failures that led him to found an entirely new form of Buddhism called Mondo Zen. Starting from an abusive and alcoholic home in Wisconsin, Kelly becomes a major force in the counterculture of the 1960s and one of its biggest manufacturers of LSD. He ends up on the run for five years before serving time in a federal prison, and then goes on to spend six years in a Zen monastery. In his fiftieth year...

Lois Letchford’s dyslexia came to light at the age of 39 when she faced teaching her seven-year-old, nonreading son Nicholas. Examining her reading failure caused her to adapted and change lessons for her son. The results were dramatic. Lois qualified as a reading specialist to use her nontraditional background, multicontinental experience and passion to assist other failing students.

This is not a traditional biography with a chronological enumeration of dates and places and events, because my husband’s life was not a traditional existence. His every thought and action was part of a larger whole - a profound knowledge of the universe that Philip Berg, who later became known as the Rav, acquired and then imparted. I include here events that are representative of his passion and purpose - events that also shaped my own journey, our tumultuous marriage, and the creation of the worldwide network known as the Kabbalah Center.

Over 20 years ago, the students in first-year teacher Erin Gruwell’s high school class in Long Beach, California, were labeled “unteachable” - but she saw past that. Instead of treating them as scores on a test, she understood that each of them had a unique story to tell. Inspired by books like Anne Frank’s diary, her students began writing their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the Freedom Writers. Together, they co-authored The Freedom Writers Diary, which launched a movement that remains incredibly relevant and impactful today.

Mrs. Korthaus has always been ahead of her time—an educator who inspired her students to dream bigger, think deeper, and live boldly. For decades, she led an English classroom with caring and conviction, but it’s not until she’s retired, and then fighting cancer, that she begins to share her story: long ago marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., building a corporate career, and overcoming heartbreak before “accidentally” becoming a teacher and forever shaping the lives of countless young adults—including bestselling author Kristine Gasbarre.

What are you going to do for the rest of your life? For David Lawrence, Jr., a brilliant newspaper editor and publisher with a distinguished, three-decade-long journalism career who retired in 1999 at the age of 56, the answer in his words was to dedicate his life to a "[N]ewly energized purposefulness: that every child have a real chance to succeed."

A young teacher buys a one-way ticket to Shishmaref, Alaska. Within minutes of landing, she finds herself dealing with unexpected, rustic accommodations, and the culture shock of living in a remote Iñuit community. She relies on her courage, resilience, and wit while enduring freezing temperatures, power outages, loneliness, and first-year teacher anxieties and missteps, but eventually realizes that those challenges pale in comparison to the life lessons she learns about the heart of teaching.

The Education of a Lifetime is a compelling memoir by former Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat. Khayat speaks about his childhood days in Moss Point, Mississippi, the state's segregationist policies that prevented his SEC-champion baseball team from playing in the College World Series, and the sadness of experiencing his father's arrest and guilty plea. These seemingly disparate events worked to prepare him to battle the vestiges of racial strife that continued to haunt the university's culture as he accepted the honor of becoming the university's 15th chancellor.

They were called the Class from Hell - 34 inner-city sophomores she inherited from a teacher who'd been "pushed over the edge". She was told "those kids have tasted blood. They're dangerous." But Louanne Johnson had a different idea. Where the school system saw 34 unreachable kids, she saw young men and women with intelligence and dreams.