Looking for a bit of old-fashioned inspiration? Not ready to take a deep-dive into your PLN tonight? Curl up with one of these terrific biographies that are perfect for just about any teacher. From Maria Montessori to Booker T. Washington to Mary McLeod Bethune and beyond, there’s something here for you.
The following list is a cross-post from Online Colleges who outlined another 10 terrific biographies that every educator should read.
As the leader of the Montessori education system, Maria Montessori’s story is important for any teacher. Read this book to learn how Montessori brought about a classroom revolution. You’ll see her contributions to child development as well as controversies in her life and work.
Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey
You may know Melvil Dewey as the designer of the Dewey decimal system, but this book about his life reveals much more, including his involvement in causes such as the metric and spelling reform movements. Although Dewey made great contributions, he was also involved in racism, anti-Semitism, and other controversies that are interesting to read about along with his contributions to librarianship.
Booker T. Washington is well known for making his mark on history, particularly through the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama, as he helped students help themselves in a new school for African Americans. Read this book to learn about Washington’s fascinating life and rise as a mulatto slave to the president of the Tuskegee Institute and influential political leader.
A Life in School: What the Teacher Learned
In this book, Jane Thompkins looks back on her life in the classroom, and realizes that she has a lot to unlearn from her time spent there. Read along with Jane and discover what she now knows about throwing out classroom conventions in favor of really connecting with her students, and consider how you might use her knowledge in your own practice.
We all have a basic grasp of the story of Annie Sullivan, the teacher who helped Helen Keller break through her inability to communicate as a blind, deaf, and mute child. But this biographical play offers an in-depth look into the life and work of this amazing teacher, as she tutored Keller to success despite the Kellers’ resistance, using persistence and love in a way that is inspiring for all educators.
Teachers can learn so much from the children that they teach, and Robert S. Ove is no exception. As a missionary teacher at the Chiricahua Apache settlement in 1940s New Mexico, Ove was thrust into a culture that left a great impact on him as he observed firsthand how the Chiricahua adapted to white ways over time.
Frank McCourt is famous for Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis, but his final memoir, Teacher Man, is just as important. This book takes a look at his 30-year career as a teacher in NYC public high schools and his unorthodox approaches in education. Read along and see how McCourt made suicide notes, likability, and even eating sandwiches off of the floor work for him as an educator.
Sunset of the Empire in Malaya
Most teachers understand education from a very Western perspective, including TK Taylor, the New Zealand author of this memoir. However, Taylor got an education in Malaysian teaching when he joined the Colonial Service tasked with helping rebuild the country after WWII and Japanese occupation. Check out this book, and you’ll see how Taylor adapted his Western curriculum to fit what was needed in local schools, and better understand how education helped Malaysia’s transition to independence.
A Boy I Once Knew: What a Teacher Learned from Her Student
In the day-to-day work of leading a classroom, it’s easy for teachers to forget that the students they are teaching today will soon become adults. Elizabeth Stone was given an obvious reminder as she learned about the life her former student lived after he left her classroom, through 10 years of diaries given to her upon his death. Read this memoir to see what Stone learned about a student who she touched but for a brief moment in his life, and how he had an impact on hers.
Much like Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune was a pioneer in African American education and politics. This book pays tribute to her life, not just in education, but in her role as a stateswoman and leader in society. Follow along as this book shares letters and essays on Bethune’s life, education, and the founding of Bethune-Cookman University.
Teaching Other People’s Children
As a teacher, you don’t get to pick and choose whose children you’ll be teaching, and the backgrounds they come from. So it is incredibly important that you learn how to understand and interact with children from backgrounds different than your own. Cynthia Ballenger’s memoir takes a look at her years teaching Haitian inner city preschoolers, and how she observed their approaches to literature, finding ways to listen to what they had to say.
Escalante: The Best Teacher in America
You may know Jaime Escalante’s story from Stand and Deliver. If you don’t, now’s the time to correct that, and if you do, take an even closer look into Escalante’s life and methods with this biographical novel. You’ll see how a Bolivian immigrant was able to thrive as a teacher in an East LA barrio, inspiring students to choose books and challenging classes over dangerous gangs.
Jerry Roberts taught for nearly 30 years, entering as a four year Army veteran and father. In this autobiography, he shares the everyday experiences of his former classroom, revealing a life’s work that is so much more than education, but expanded to include the roles of surrogate parent and even amateur psychologist. Read on, and you’ll see what it’s really like to live in the classroom.
Vivian Gussin Paley made the study of integrated schools her life’s work, along with teaching kindergarten in Chicago. In this book, she examines the opinions of the public on integrated schools, including parents, adult graduates, teachers, and students of various backgrounds. Read Paley’s book to find out how important it is to learn about how comfortable students, parents, and teachers feel in the classroom environment.
As a successful teacher, Marva Collins did well using her own individual teaching method. Everyone from classroom teachers to homeschoolers has been interested in finding out how she does it, and Collins shares her method in this book. Read her biography and how-to so that you can find out how you can motivate students to do their very best in school.