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• Book Launch: Educator Reflections: The Power of Our Stories

  Announcing the newly released book, Educator Reflections: The Power of Our Stories

  Congratulations to MTSU faculty, Pamela Kramer Ertel and Robyn Ridgley (editors), and their chapter contributors! They published an edited monograph on April 15, 2025, titled Educator Reflections: The Power of Our Stories. This is the third book published under the James E. Walker Library’s MT Open Press imprint. Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? Or are you interested in how to improve or reflect on your own educator journey? Then you will want to read this book!

  

  What’s inside

  • Five chapters with short and insightful entries highlight various educators’ diverse professional journeys, from preschool to higher education.
  • Reflections on unique paths to the profession, emphasizing pivotal moments and acknowledging the heroes and mentors who influenced their professional development.
  • Inspirational stories from teachers at different stages of their careers.

  What the book is about

  Educator Reflections: The Power of Our Stories highlights the diverse professional journeys of various educators within Middle Tennessee State University and their partner schools as they share their experiences in the teaching profession. Contributors represent all educational levels, from preschool through higher education.

  Teachers from various levels recount their unique paths to the profession, emphasizing pivotal moments and acknowledging the heroes and mentors who influenced their professional development. These shared experiences aim to inspire and guide individuals at different stages of their careers, including those just considering teaching as a career, preservice teachers, current educators, and those nearing the conclusion of their educational journey who seek to continue making a positive impact.

  The book concludes with targeted recommendations and insights designed to propel the profession forward in a constructive direction, motivating readers to engage further with the content and their professional development.

  If you have ever considered a career in education at the preschool, elementary, or high school level, aspired to be a college professor, or been inspired by a remarkable teacher, you will find resonance in the powerful stories these incredible educators share. Their experiences highlight the profound impact of teaching and will leave you inspired to embark on or continue your journey in the field of education.

  Reviews

  “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book—I couldn’t put it down! I often finished one of the stories and thought, “I wish I had read this at that stage of my career!” The pieces were so interesting that I read the whole manuscript twice in two days. The ideas of mentorship and heroes come through clearly, and there is genuinely good, solid teaching advice. I wish I had read a book like this when starting graduate school and making my own transition from high school teacher to university professor and administrator. I would want this book in my personal collection and recommend it to anyone at any level of teaching.”

  –Mary Clement, EdD, author and professor emeritus, Berry College

  “This book is important as it humanizes the path toward being an educator in a very nuanced way. I think the novelty here is the conflation of teaching at both the K-12 and post-secondary levels. You don’t often think of “teachers” and “professors” as the same thing, and I think there’s value in showing sameness. I believe this is a really valuable contribution as I don’t know of any other similar or competing works.”

  –Dr. Kenita T. Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Southern Education Foundation

  About the editors and authors

  Pamela Kramer Ertel is a Professor of Education, and Robyn Ridgley is a Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Education at Middle Tennessee State University. The editors have a wide range of experience in teaching, pedagogy, and teacher education.

  The book features a diverse group of authors with incredible expertise from various disciplines and perspectives at Middle Tennessee State University and regional partners.

  If you use this book in your course, please tell us at digitalscholar@mtsu.edu.

  Book information

  Available at https://openpress.mtsu.edu

  © 2025 the Authors

  Published by MT Open Press at Middle Tennessee State University ∙ Murfreesboro

  DOI: 10.56638/mtopb00325

  ISBN (digital PDF): 979-8-9871721-4-8

  ISBN (paperback) 979-8-9871721-5-5

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2025933025. Full record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2025933025

  Suggested citation: Ertel, P. K., & Ridgley, R. (Eds.). (2025). Educator reflections: The power of our stories. MT Open Press, Middle Tennessee State University. https://doi.org/10.56638/mtopb00325.

  The print-on-demand version (paperback) is available at https://lulu.com/spotlight/mtop  

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-4.0 International License

  

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