Every profession has practitioners who seem to have been born with the wherewithal to become a success. Teaching is no exception. Jaime Escalante, Frank McCourt and Pat Conroy immediately come to mind. They possessed an uncanny ability to achieve wonders with their students because they followed their inner voice. But there are countless other teachers who deserve equal recognition for performing what I consider to be akin to miracles in the classroom.

From time to time, I receive e-mails from former students who thank me for one thing or another, even though they're not sure I remember them. They seem surprised when I promptly respond with details that make it clear I do. The truth, however, is that I still don't know exactly what I did (or didn't do) to leave an indelible imprint on them. (I say that because I'm sure there are many students I had who don't share their views.) Nevertheless, their comments lead me to believe that non-cognitive outcomes are given too little attention in today's accountability movement.

Click here to continue reading.