The Unsung Heroes in our Schools

I write about heroes.

I spent ten years writing the books "Heroes for My Daughter" and "Heroes for My Son," to give my children examples of inspiring people whose virtues, talents and wisdom made them such great role models.

There were some famous heroes in those books, ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Lucille Ball. There were also lesser-known "regular" people. But regardless of their fame, they all proved that ordinary people change the world.

One of those ordinary people is my former English teacher Sheila Spicer.


When I was in ninth grade, Miss Spicer came up to me and said, "You can write." She told me, "You're in the wrong class. You need to be in the honors class."

For the entire school year, she made me sit in a corner and do the honors work, rather than what she was teaching the other kids in the classroom.

What she was really telling me was, "You're going to thank me later."

A decade later, when my first novel was published, I knocked on her classroom door. I said, "My name is Brad Meltzer, and this novel is for you." And she started crying.

When I asked why she was crying, she said, "I was going to retire this year because I thought I wasn't having an impact anymore." What amazed me most was she had no idea of her impact on me.

In our schools today, there are many Mrs. Spicers, teachers who work away from the spotlight, going about the business of inspiring their students to aspire to greatness.

This is especially true of our school librarians.

Read the complete Huffington Post article: The Unsung Heroes in our Schools