FINDING MRS. WARNECKE: The Difference Teachers Make

Finding Mrs. Warnecke: The Difference Teachers Make (Jossey-Bass/Wiley) tells the inspiring story of Cindi Rigsbee, a three-time Teacher of the Year, and Barbara Warnecke, her first-grade teacher who had a profound and lasting impact on Cindi’s life.  This memoir is being published to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Week (starting on May 3^rd). 

They lost touch, but Cindi carried the memories of Mrs. Warnecke’s teaching methods and kindness to her students with her when she became a teacher.  In 2008, Cindi was serving as her state’s Teacher of the Year, traveling throughout the state as the Teacher Ambassador encouraging high school and college students to consider teaching as a profession.  One morning she heard an announcement on “Good Morning America” inviting viewers to apply to be on the show, “If you’d like to thank someone who’s made a difference in your life.”  She sent in an email describing the influence Mrs. Warnecke played in her life and heard back a month later that they wanted to fly her to New York to be on the show.  In true TV fashion, they said they couldn’t find Mrs. Warnecke but wanted Cindi to tell her story – and then, presto, they brought Mrs. Warnecke onto the studio set to surprise her, and there were tears and hugs all around.  Here is a link to the clip: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5726538&page=1.  Since then Cindi and Mrs. Warnecke renewed their relationship, and there are special quotes from Barbara Warnecke at the beginning of each chapter. 

Finding Mrs. Warnecke is a beautifully written story of Cindi’s struggles and triumphs from her days as a student to her first years as a young teacher and now to her role as an advocate for other teachers.  In the book, she gives examples of four essential concepts she practices and encourages others to emulate:

Relationships – “I know that anything positive I’ve ever done as a teacher can be related back to that one word…the importance of making connections with the children in my care.”

Magic – Cindi works at “find the ‘magical’ elements that make my classroom a place my students want to be.”

Whatever It Takes – “My commitment to do whatever I have to do to make my classroom a safe and happy place for learning.”

Dreams – Called the “Dream Teacher” by her students for the past fifteen years, Cindi believes in dreams and going after them with passion and perseverance.  She shares that passion with her students throughout the year and encourages them to pursue their own dreams and passions. 

Finding Mrs. Warnecke serves as a guide to all teachers who want to make a positive impact in their own classrooms.  Also, the book is interspersed with short essays from instructors describing how they were inspired by one of their teachers.  In a bigger sense, Finding Mrs. Warnecke is about acknowledging that special teacher in each person’s childhood that made a difference.