Now that school has begun for another year, this would be a good time to learn about some extraordinary teachers both past and present:

A schoolteacher in old Alaska: the story of Hannah Breece by edited and with an introduction and commentary by Jane Jacobs

Nothing daunted: the unexpected education of two society girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden

The water is wide by Pat Conroy

Teacher man: a memoir by Frank McCourt

Beyond the miracle worker: the remarkable life of Anne Sullivan Macy and her extraordinary friendship with Helen Keller by Kim E. Nielsen

In the sun's house: my year teaching on the Navajo reservation by Kurt Caswell ; afterword by Rex Lee Jim

I touch the future—: the story of Christa McAuliffe by Robert T. Hohler

Helen and teacher: the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash

There are no shortcuts by Rafe Esquith

The emergency teacher: the inspirational story of a new teacher in an inner city school by Christina Asquith ; foreword by Mark Bowden ; introduction by Harry K. Wong

Louis Braille: a touch of genius by C. Michael Mellor

Letters to a young teacher by Jonathan Kozol

A smile as big as the moon: a teacher, his class, and their unforgettable journey by Mike Kersjes with Joe Layden

Relentless pursuit: a year in the trenches with Teach for America by Donna Foote

The great expectations school: a rookie year in the new blackboard jungle: a memoir by Dan Brown

The imprisoned guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the original deaf-blind girl by Elisabeth Gitter

Educating Esmé: diary of a teacher's first year by Esmé Raji Codell

The promise: how one woman made good on her extraordinary pact to send a classroom of first graders to college by Oral Lee Brown ; with Caille Millner