Letters To A Teacher

An English teacher at a boys' school in Tennessee, Pickering was the inspiration for the film "Dead Poets Society." In ten eloquent essays addressed to teachers of all types, Pickering shares compelling, funny, always elucidating anecdotes from his more than 40 years in the classroom.

Sam Pickering has been teaching, guiding, performing, and inspiring for more than forty years. As a young English teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy in Tennessee, his musings on literature and his maverick pedagogy touched a student named Tommy Schulman, who later wrote the screenplay for "Dead Poets Society." "Letters to a Teacher" is a welcome reminder that teaching is a joy and an art. In ten graceful yet conversational letters addressed to teachers of all types, Pickering shares compelling, funny, always elucidating anecdotes from a lifetime in the classrooms of school and universities. His priceless, homespun observations touch on topics such as competition, curiosity, enthusiasm, and truth. More than a how-to guide, "Letters to a Teacher" is an invitation into the hearts and minds of an extraordinary educator and his students, and an irresistible call to reflection for the teacher who knows he or she must be compassionate, optimistic, respectful, firm, and above all dynamic. This is an indispensable guide for teachers and laymen alike.