American Teacher

Celebrating educators, who go far above and beyond the call of duty, American Teacher shines a spotlight on one of the most underappreciated, undercompensated, yet critically important professions in the world. Over the course of two years, Katrina Fried has interviewed and written the stories of 50 extraordinary teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, selected from public and charter schools across the United States. The result is a collection of inspiring and informative first person-narratives accompanied by heartfelt letters from students and captivating portraits taken by celebrated photographers from around the country such as Peter Feldstein, Roman Cho, Paul Natkin and Laura Straus. American Teacher introduces us to classroom heroes like Stephen Ritz of NYC's South Bronx, who uses sustainable agriculture as a tool to engage and inspire his neighborhood's most at-risk special-needs students; Rafe Esquith, a trail-blazing, multi-award-winning educator and author, who has spent 31years teaching 5th grade from within the same four walls at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles; and Iowan Sarah Brown Wessling who's unique "learner-centered" approach to teaching high school English earned her the 2010 National Teacher of the Year award. These are our most unsung heroes, the men and women responsible for molding and preparing our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the face of increasing class sizes, insufficient resources, and budget cuts, many of our teachers are dipping into their own pockets and personal time to bridge the gap for their students; they are finding innovative and engaging solutions to institutional problems and changing the outcome of countless lives in the process. Hear their stories, see their faces, and join us as we pay tribute to their passion and sacrifice.

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The American Teacher is a comprehensive education foundations text with an emphasis on the historical continuity of educational issues that empowers prospective teachers to channel their innate idealism into effective teaching practices.

Told chronologically and divided into ten decades, The American Teacher sheds light on the important role that teachers have played in this country over the last one hundred years. It is parsed through the voices of educators, intellectuals, and journalists who have weighed in on its many different dimensions from the 1920s to today.

Illustrates the concerns of teachers, students and law enforcement officers across the country, about the increasing violence and fears of violence in their schools. Contents: defining the problem (types of violence), other aspects of students lives (home life, TV, crime in their neighborhood), sources and reactions to violence (likely victims), weapons and self protection, teacher and student experiences (types of violent acts), defining the impact (effects of violence on teachers and students), and examining some solutions (security personnel). Appendix A presents the methodology of this report, and Appendix B the questionnaires given to teachers.

The author holds a Master's degrees in Christian Education from Eden Seminary and in Nursing Education from Washington University, St. Louis. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from MacMurray College and a nursing certificate from Blessing Hospital. Awards include: Curator's Award from University of Missouri, Ford Foundation teaching internship, United States Public Health Service Grant, and academic scholarships. She has been recognized by Blessing nurses' alumni association as Nurse of the Year and inducted into her Palmyra, Missouri school district's Academic Hall of Fame. She was a missionary teacher for twenty years under the Presbyterian Church USA and vocational and program agencies. From 1974 to 1978 she was a Nursing Instructor at the University of Azarabadegan in Iran and from 1978 to 1988 she was a Christian Education Teacher at Maridi Teacher Training Institute and the first American woman to become Chair at their Department of Religion. Marjorie White, a missionary teacher for over twenty years, has written this book at the request of missionary schools who want to train educators to serve in Muslim countries. The book covers the personal perspectives and experiences in Iran during her time of service and her own perspectives on relating to those of the Muslim religion that she learned from interaction with her Muslim students, friends and co-workers. The books of Moses were the only text that she was allowed to use in her religious education classes in both Sudan and Iran and this presentation is fairly representative of what she taught. Parts of this book are devoted to her use of the new teaching technique of using literary methods to teach science and other non-literary subjects. This book is timely, as it addresses today's new interest in teaching Bible truths throughout school curriculum.