A volume in Adolescence and EducationSeries Editors Tim Urdan, Santa Clara University and Frank Pajares Emory UniversityPaulo Freire wrote that "sometimes a simple, almost insignificant gesture on the part of a teacher can have aprofound formative effect on the life of a student." Sometimes, of course, this formative effect is not the resultof a simple, isolated gesture but rather of a proactive and sustained series of gestures on the part of a teacher.Many of us have been deeply influenced by one or more teachers who have exercised a formative effect in ourdevelopment as students and individuals. We remember these teachers with fondness, tell their stories to ourown children, think of them with affection, respect, gratitude, even reverence. Sometimes, we recognized thisinfluence as it was happening, and we grew close to these remarkable individuals, keeping them in our liveseven after we graduated from their classes. Often, however, they themselves were unaware of the influencethey exercised over us, for it was not until years passed that we realized their effect. If time and distance did notprevent it, perhaps we found our way back to these educators and shared with them our appreciation and gratitude.In this volume, outstanding scholars in the fields of adolescence and education provide short stories describing their most memorable teacher. Someprovide the story on its own; other follow it with a brief analysis drawn from theory and research in education, psycholog...