Matthews, Jay. The Best Teacher in America. New York: Henry Holt & Co; 1st Edition, 1988.

Mathews tracks the teaching career of Bolivian born Jaime Escalante. Escalante forged an
unorthodox and inspirational path to teaching calculus and other mathematics courses to
disadvantaged students at Garfield High School in poverty stricken East Lost Angeles. By
telling jokes, roll playing, and making the kids laugh, Escalante instilled in his students that
he actually liked them and loved teaching them. Escalante promoted self-worth to his
students, in a time when some had no positive influences in their lives. Jaime Escalante
was a role model to educators, parents and students.
Nielsen, Kim E. Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy
and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller. New York: Beacon Press; 1st Edition,
2009.
After writing two biographies about Helen Keller, Nielsen decided more credit needed to
be given to Helens inspiring teacher Anne Sullivan Macy. Through a difficult beginning as
an almost blind child living in an orphanage, Anne obtained an education (not an easy task
for females in the 1860s) and made a successful life for herself and her student, Helen
Keller. Macy was firm with Keller but also formed a worthwhile and caring bond with her
pupil.
Bolden, Tonya. FDR's Alphabet Soup: New Deal America 1932-1939. New York: Random
House Children's Books, 2010.
Bolden takes pre-teen readers through the New Deal years of one of the greatest leaders
of our time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32
nd
president of the United States. The
policies are explained that started the many new agencies and regulations, most of which
were created within the first one 100 days of FDRs 1
st
term. The author portrays the
success of FDR and depicts the troublesome financial state of the country that changed
American lives forever.


Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream, Teachertube website,
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=94828 (accessed Feb 21, 2013).
This site allows children to hear the famous and overwhelmingly inspiring speech given by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His vision by itself is amazing, but his cadence and conviction as
he expressed his hopes for this world is a must hear for all. I have a dream that my four
little children one day will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.
Laurie Hedlund LIS 716 Spring February 23, 2013
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.
John Buchan, Scottish novelist, historian and politician

The above quote displays the delicate, necessary balance between teacher and student. I chose two inspirational
teachers and two leaders that lived during troubled times in American history all striving for a better tomorrow.