Introduction

The pieces collected in this volume trace the evolution of the teacher and the profession from the late 18th century to the present day Although they represent a range of narrative forms, including letters, memoirs, short fiction, and ethnographies, all the selections included here are “stories”; they draw us both intellectually and emotionally into another world where different classrooms and different eras can be felt with great immediacy Each piece in this volume, whether written in the past or in contemporary America, is a rich source for instructing the reader in the nature of the teaching act and in the reality of the teacher’s life over time.