The school principal at Port Barre Elementary in Louisiana is a living example of perseverance. Gabe Sonnier worked as the school's janitor in 1985 when then-Principal Westley Jones pulled him aside and said, I'd rather see you grading papers than picking them up. It was a turning point in Gabe's life.
Meet the woman who grew up in a refugee camp and later opened a school to teach non-violence to kids–and just won Global Teacher of the Year.
High school students in Riverside, California donned bright yellow shirts and waved mood-boosting signs to interrupt the daily routines of drivers and passersby on Tuesday. Honking horns, hundreds of smiles, and supportive waves were their reward as the teens learned the power of positive encouragement.
A teenager, who endured years of bullying, brought his classmates to tears at a school assembly that was later broadcast by a documentary in Britain. Educating Yorkshire placed cameras around the school and revealed a powerful breakthrough moment with a student who stammered, and his subsequent speech in front of the whole school.
A retiring Massachusetts principal was tricked into going on the school rooftop to receive a very memorable going-away present. Students, parents and staff stretched across the parking lot below surprising the 36-year veteran educator with a loving flash mob of thanks.
Jim Abbott was born with only one hand. Despite the impairment, he won an Olympic gold medal, played professional baseball, pitched a no-hitter, wrote a bestselling memoir and has impacted the lives of thousands of people through his inspirational talks. But he still enthusiastically recounts how one of his greatest inspirations came from his third grade teacher.
Who knew going to the principal's office meant that something good had happened rather than bad?
Everyone has a skill. Now retirees and other talented individuals in London are invited to share their passions by joining The Amazings, a new social enterprise that helps people with skills to teach others by way of group classes and activities. The website explains, We handle the advertising and payments – all the Amazing has to do is decide when they want to run their experience, turn up, be amazing, and then collect the cash.
In Rhode Island, teachers in a local public school have overcome animosity with charter school educators. Instead, they have joined together to dramatically raise reading scores for young children who choose their own books.
Frustrated teacher Carrie Gelson, after a difficult day at work, wrote an impassioned open letter to Vancouver residents asking if anyone cared about her inner-city students who were coming to school with empty tummies and holes in their shoes. The response was astonishing.
As a social studies teacher in a Boston public high school for 14 years, Stephen Banno has developed a curriculum called the "Love Course," that present ancient cultural wisdoms coupled with the latest discoveries in modern science to address issues concerning love in our contemporary lives. Students have reported that in small ways, they have transformed themselves, their friends, and the school around them.
A lifelong baseball fan, this English teacher has his own devoted fans—students from the last 20 years who surprised him with tickets to the biggest game.
Devoted seventh grade teacher Sabrina Drude was given a lesson in kindness from a total stranger.
Kindness, creativity, bravery – these are things that Ben Twist's teacher knows he has in abundance that test scores can't measure.
A professor began a library on wheels to make sure people on society's fringes have access to literature and stimulating conversation—even chats about Chomsky.
Nevada has the lowest high school graduation rate in the country. But now a multi-million dollar federal grant is helping one district turn its schools around. Host Michel Martin speaks with a principal who spent last Saturday knocking on the doors of students who dropped out, encouraging them to come back to school.
When a teacher missed the warning signs of a student's attempted suicide, she wrote 130 personal letters to prevent other students from trying it.
When 11-year-old Cody began furiously saving money for something in October, his mom figured it was another Xbox game–but this kid had a grand plan.
When fifth-graders showed up for a big test, each had a personalized, motivational message from their teacher handwritten across their desk.
While on location in the small town of Marfa, Texas, Kevin Bacon used his free time to drop by a school district end-of-year teacher recognition party.
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