After doing some studies of teachers published in educational journals, Debbie Rickey and I finally published The Habit of Passionate Teaching in May of 2024. As we wrote, we reflected on our early experiences as educators and what kept us in the teaching profession. We also studied what veteran teachers in our studies were telling us – what kept them in the teaching profession. What kept them full of passion? What helped them weather the seemingly non-stop storms and challenges in the educational system? Most importantly, what was working in their classrooms?
What did we find? Well, it’s complicated. It’s wonderfully messy. And it’s certainly not easy. Nevertheless, we found that a small teacher preparation program at Earlham College was making a difference in the lives of the graduates who worked in classrooms across the country. Debbie created the program with colleague Randall Shrock, then I joined Debbie. Later, Debbie left, and I worked with a new colleague, Becky Dimick Eastman. Throughout the years, all of us who taught and supervised student teachers realized that our grads were staying in the teaching profession when so many were leaving. We wondered why: this book highlights the results of our years long inquiry.
If you read this book, we hope you’re comfortable with finding more questions than answers. That’s right. Questions. I can see what you’re thinking: Why should I read a book that only has questions not answers?
Great question. This is an authentic book. A book for educators who realize that there are no easy answers when your job is helping students learn. Instead, we offer many questions that we hope will help current educators and prospective educators find their own answers – or their own questions to pursue. This is crucial because we learn from pursuing questions grounded in our own experiences, our own unique schools, our own classrooms, our own students.
If you’re an educator or aspiring educator, I hope you’ll give the book a try. You can read the first three chapters on my publisher’s website https://booklocker.com/books/13328.html
Randall Wisehart 