"Julie takes us on a reading journey honoring lessons that extend past the walls of classrooms and over the course of time. A beautiful celebration of teachers, stories, and the power of human connection!"
—Dr. Jennifer Williams, Executive Director Take Action Global, Professor, Author, Teacher
Meet the Author
It all started when I set out to answer a big question,
What difference do teachers really make in the lives of their students?
Since then, I have talked to hundreds of people about teachers who made an impact on their lives. As a qualitative researcher, I love to collect people’s stories. Chalk and Chances started as a research project, an attempt to answer my big question, but it turned into a mission.
I call myself a teacher, researcher and story collector. After playing school as a kid, I spent fifteen years as an early childhood and elementary school teacher. Over the next ten years as an assistant principal and principal, I loved seeing the educators in my school stretch and grow. During my time as a school administrator, I earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida.
Now I am a professor, teaching graduate students and also teaching people around the country to make a bigger impact on those they serve. I am a nationally known speaker and the author of Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom: The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students’ Lives and Unmapped Potential: An Educator’s Guide to Lasting Change. I am forever grateful to my teachers, and I hope my work honors them.
-Julie Schmidt Hasson
The Research
I have always loved stories…
So when I encountered qualitative research as a doctoral student, I was hooked. Inspired by my teachers, I wanted to understand the lasting impact teachers make on our lives. I knew I would have to interview a large number of former students to gain this understanding. People who were once students are not hard to find – I just needed to go where they congregate. I visited farmers markets, craft fairs, and public parks with a sign that said Let’s chat about a teacher you remember.
Sitting at the park with a sign is not a typical data collection method, but it was the best crazy idea I’ve ever had. After hundreds of interviews, I gained a greater understanding of teacher impact. Using a grounded theory approach, I analyzed the stories people shared (and my own field notes) line by line in order to identify emerging categories and concepts.
It became clear that what people remember most about their teachers is the way those teachers made them feel. Over and over again, people described feeling safe, seen and stretched in their favorite teachers’ classrooms. When teachers created a safe space for students, those students could show up fully as themselves and be seen. Then, teachers gently pushed them toward their potential. They helped them stretch.
There are so many lessons hidden in the data. Like memorable teachers, we all have the power to help the people we lead and serve feel safe, seen, and stretched. By emulating great teachers, by using them as models, we can all make a bigger impact.
For more information about the project, check out the TEDx video below.