Lessons that Last: 185 Reflections on the Life-Shaping Power of a Teacher

Going into the school day with inspiration and reflection can help you feel more empowered and ready to take on the joys and challenges of teaching. In Lessons That Last, Julie Schmidt Hasson and Laura Estes-Swilley provide 185 brief stories shared by former students about their most impactful teachers. With a different story for every day of the school year, the authors illuminate the many ways teachers shape students’ lives. You can use them to set your intention for the day, to reflect on your teaching in the evening, or to infuse meetings and professional development with encouragement and affirmation.

Hasson and Estes-Swilley concisely unpack each story and pose questions to help you consider the meaning it holds for your own work. While the stories themselves are inspirational, they also provide models to help you make a greater (and more consistent) impact on your students’ lives.

Through these daily reflections, you’ll have the space to contemplate your practice and consider new perspectives and possibilities. With regular reflection, you can find greater satisfaction in teaching, particularly during challenging times. And as you grow, you'll have more capacity to help your students grow, too.

Julie Schmidt Hasson is a researcher, author, speaker, and big fan of educators everywhere. Julie’s official title is Assistant Professor of School Administration in the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University. She spent decades as a teacher and principal before becoming a professor. In addition to teaching graduate students, Julie conducts qualitative research in schools. Her research on teacher impact became the Chalk and Chances Project, which she founded in 2018. Julie’s books, Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom: The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students’ Lives and Pause, Ponder, and Persist in the Classroom: How Teachers Turn Challenges into Opportunities for Impact illuminate the many ways teachers create ripples of impact.

Laura Estes-Swilley has been a high school English teacher for over 22 years, teaching several different literature and writing courses from Advanced Placement to remedial. Laura earned National Board certification in 2005 and was named Teacher of the Year at her school and English Teacher of the Year in her district. Laura’s students have won multiple awards for their writing and poetry, and her fiction and poetry have been featured in several publications. Laura collaborated with the Washington Post for a report on teaching during the pandemic called "Dispatches from education’s front lines" in the Fall of 2020. She is passionate about teaching and nurturing her students to become writers and readers who think for themselves.