Teacher Stories

Educators Share Experiences and Innovations

Tales of a Beginning Teacher

by Brendan Clarke

posted Sep 01, 2011

Brendan Clarke reflects on his first day of teaching, and why he left the classroom to rebuild our connection with the natural world.

Horses as Healers

by Lorna Shepardson

posted Jun 09, 2011

What do you do with a teenager who’s angry, depressed, disconnected, or all of the above? Lorna Shepardson knows a magical gift horses possess that can help bring young people from the depths of darkness to a glimmer of self-confidence. This is Lorna’s story.

Get Your Skysight On!: How to Change the Way We Perceive the World

by Daniel Dancer

posted Apr 12, 2011

Oregon artist and teacher Daniel Dancer helps young people understand how animals, Earth, and humans are connected. By being part of a human painting, students are instilled with the power to change the world and protect endangered species.

Getting Inside the Heads of Students With Asperger Syndrome

by Dan Coulter

posted Feb 09, 2011

How do you help a student with Asperger Syndrome discover his strengths and thrive in the classroom? Dan Coulter helps teachers understand what goes on inside the head of a student with Asperger Syndrome.

Want Successful Students? Meet the Parents

by Girlie Forman

posted Dec 22, 2010

Girlie Forman shares her personal experience, her sense of humor, and food to connect with her high school students—and their families.

Powerful Learning Grows in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward

by David Ferris

posted Oct 11, 2010

Our School at Blair Grocery meets crises with open eyes, humble hearts, and social entrepreneurship.

Teens Care for Their Local River, Their Way

by Peter Donaldson

posted Aug 10, 2010

How do you get teens to care for their local watershed? Peter Donaldson’s carrot is the opportunity to produce smart, hip videos and be the on-air expert.

¡Hola! The Future Is Now

by Michelle Contreras

posted May 05, 2010

First grade teacher Michelle Contreras uses two-way Spanish immersion and touch therapy to connect with her students.

Why Race Has Everything To Do With Who and How I Teach

by Walter Davis

posted Mar 26, 2010

At Rising S.T.A.R.S. Male Academy in urban Atlanta, Walter Davis uses "real talk" and literature to teach middle school boys of color how to be excellent students and emerge as successful young men.

Growing Good People Through Work, Study, and Community

by Margo Flood

posted Jan 26, 2010

Organic gardens, eco-friendly dorms, and vegetarian eateries are not all that make up Warren Wilson College—an environmentally conscious work college in the rolling hills of Ashville, North Carolina. Rather, as Margo Flood, director of the Environmental Leadership Center puts it, this campus is all about the liberal arts. Learn how Warren Wilson students and teachers strive for a complete education through work, study, and community.

Discovering the Beauty of Teenagers

by John Hasyn

posted Dec 23, 2009

We tend to be afraid of those who are different from us. For John Hasyn, it was teenagers. Despite his feelings of intimidation, the Canadian-based photographer chose to work full-on with Inuit youth in Nunavut. What he discovered changed his perspective forever.

Starting with Place: Molokai Students Re-Define their Education

by Vicki Newberry

posted Sep 22, 2009

Head of School and teacher Vicki Newberry brought a place-based curriculum to her independent middle school in Molokai, Hawaii. Now Aka`ula School students thrive as they research and create positive solutions for environmental issues affecting their own community.

Anthropology 101: How to Change the World

by Tom Murphy

posted Jun 30, 2009

Professor Tom Murphy wanted his students to reconnect with nature. Now, they work beside farmers, fishermen, wastewater technicians, environmental groups, and Native American leaders through an award-winning service learning program.

Reconnecting Schools to Real Food

by Chef Tom French

posted Apr 10, 2009

Chef Tom, director of the Experience Food Project, has a broad vision of a new school food system that provides students with healthy food, reconnects them with the source of their meals, and builds bridges between the classroom and the kitchen. Here is Tom’s story.

If You Give a Kid a Shovel

by Joe Gillespie

posted Mar 11, 2009

Joe Gillespie from Crescent City, California, started his first school garden in 1993 with 50 raised beds. Today, he and his middle school students are growing vegetables year-round, monitoring wind turbines, and experiencing the incredible joy of connecting with each other and the land.