5 books on teachers and teaching

Read about inspiring people who make a difference in the classroom

September 5 is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. This day is celebrated to remember the contribution of teachers, mentors and guides in our lives. Words will never be enough to thank these people for shaping our thoughts and career but a few books have done an amazing job of capturing this important bond.

Metrolife brings to you some great teachers, immortalised in books.

Never Fade Away

Author: William Hart

The book is about corruption in the California university system and how immigrant students are mistreated there and even misunderstood. The main narrator of the book is an English teacher, John Goddard. He is a veteran of the Vietnam war and he is fighting the bureaucratic system to make the university a congenial place for these students to build their career. The second narrator is one of his students — Tina Le, a Vietnamese. The two take turns to tell the story of their lasting bond.

Dangerous Friend: The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism

Author: Rig’Dzin Dorje

It highlights the duty of a teacher to pass on the knowledge and wisdom. It also underscores the moral responsibility of a student to carry forward his or her teacher’s legacy. The book upholds the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, according to which, a student should have complete faith in his or her teacher, if he or she wants to achieve something big in life.

Tuesdays With Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson

Author: Mitch Albom

Everybody has that one person in life, who’s older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and lost, and who pulls you out of sticky situations all the time. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final ‘class’: lessons in how to live.

Goodbye Mr Chips

Author: James Hilton

This book is about one Mr Chipping, who lets go of his old-school strict teacher ways to emerge as an excellent educator and a beloved mentor. He mingles with the boys at a fictional British public boarding school and soon becomes their friend, their confidant. They call him Mr Chips fondly.

Teacher Man

Author: Frank McCourt

It is a tribute to teachers everywhere. It is about how Frank McCourt’s 30-year-old teaching career shaped his second innings in life as a writer. McCourt records the trials, triumphs, and surprises he faces in public high schools around the New York City. The book talks about his teaching methods that are anything but conventional. He creates a lasting impact on his students through inventive assignments.