Conversations with America's Best Teachers

"The best way to improve schools is to improve teachers."

This simple concept, along with my deep-seated passion to help kids get a great education, is what led to the creation of the book Conversations with America's Best Teachers. The idea was to interview some of the best teachers in the country for practical advice that could help every teacher in the country (including parents) improve their craft. I first interviewed dozens of teachers to find out what questions they would most want answered by the best teachers in the country. These initial interviews are what led to the questions asked in the book. I then tracked down 18 National Teacher of the Year winners and finalists and interviewed them about things such as how they handle parental involvement, classroom management, NCLB issues, and a ton of other common questions designed to provide insight to teachers everywhere.

The interviews with these teachers were so fantastic and inspiring that I have made it my goal to get this book into the hands of every K-12 teacher in the country. I truly believe that the information in these interviews will help reform education one teacher at a time and I will do my best to see that it happens.

Here are the 18 teachers featured in the book:

Alex Kajitani, 2009 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Michael Geisen, 2008 National Teacher of the Year
Joshua Anderson, 2007 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Tamra Tiong, 2007 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Kimberly Oliver Burnim, 2006 National Teacher of the Year
Samuel Bennett, 2006 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Ronald Poplau, 2006 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Susan Barnard, 2006 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Jason Kamras, 2005 National Teacher of the Year
Tamra Steen, 2005 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Kathleen Mellor, 2004 National Teacher of the Year
Jason Fulmer, 2004 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Keil Hileman, 2004 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Dennis Griner, 2004 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Betsy Rogers, 2003 National Teacher of the Year
Melissa Bartlett, 2003 National Teacher of the Year finalist
Philip Bigler, 1998 National Teacher of the Year
Sharon M. Draper, 1997 National Teacher of the Year

You can see the tremendous talent level here. Although these teachers may not consider themselves to be "America's Best" they are truly representative of the very best. They have a lot to offer and want to share what they have learned over the years in an effort to help teachers, parents, and students become the best that they can be.