If you can read this, someone cared about you. If you can read this, you want a brighter future for our kids. If you can read this, thank a teacher.

The son of a teacher himself, the world's #1 bestselling author James Patterson blows the lid off what is happening in today's schools with firsthand stories, highlighting the heroic efforts of the world's teachers.

Teachers are the heroes we too often forget to thank. And we need heroes more than ever.  From across the country, from kindergarten to high school, from public, private, religious, or military schools, teachers tell us:

• What it takes to teach kids day in and day out
  
• What it takes to improve kids’ lives
  
• What it takes to foster a lifelong readers and lifelong learners 

The book contains the first-hand perspectives from teachers across the country, and we are pleased to be able to share on of those with you here. 

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ABIGAIL EDWARDS 

Abigail Edwards always knew she wanted to make a direct impact on kids. She considered being a nurse and then a speech pathologist before deciding to major in elementary education with a concentration in STEM at North Carolina State. 

MY FIRST TIME student teaching is super nerve-racking.  

I’m twenty-one years old and feel like saying, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

But here I am, standing in front of a classroom full of third graders. And even though there’s a supervising teacher in the room, it’s up to me to lead the class. 

Teaching, I quickly realize, is not just about presenting educational content. You’re another parent. A therapist and a nurse. Mentor, coach, and leader. You need to adopt all these other roles because, essentially, you become one of the most important and influential adult figures in a kid’s life.  

This is going to be a huge learning process. And I’m going to have to do some growing up of my own. 

I really want the students to like me. To be their friend. But I’m here to help these students, not to always try to please them. A big part of my job is classroom management. I realize I need to adopt a stricter side. 

I also need to be a role model. I need to communicate the high expectations I have for them while also making sure they know I’m a support system. To put on a brave face when they share the stuff they’re going through. 

Kids who go through a lot of stuff, I’m finding out, tend to have behavioral issues as a way of communicating they need help. Some of these kids face daily traumas. They face situations I’ve never even considered. The world they experience outside the classroom is the one they bring inside the classroom. 

Some of my students are homeless. They grew up that way their whole lives. It’s sad. I just want to take them home or give them a hug. 

I’m always trying to make a positive impact on my students, but it’s not always easy. Having kids open up about challenges— the internal and external struggles they’re experiencing— is an emotional roller coaster. It’s a lot, taking on these burdens. But I do it because I care. 

A student confides in me about stuff that’s going on at home. It’s to a level where Child Protective Services (CPS) is going to have to get involved. I talk to my supervising teacher about it, and we both know contacting CPS is the best decision. Since the child confided in me, I need to be the one to reach out. 

I expect CPS to answer my call right away, but they don’t. I could be calling with an absolute emergency, and I would still be put on hold because they’re dealing with other emergencies. 

The student who confided in me never returns to school. I know making that call was the right decision, but it’s still frustrating not to know the outcome, or how that student is doing. Hard. 

There’s such a teacher shortage that, right out of college, I get a job teaching second graders. Now that I’m an actual teacher, I don’t have another adult in the room as backup. It’s going to be all up to me. I’ll be in charge of seventeen kids between seven and eight years old.  

It’s like being thrown to the wolves. 

One student has a lot of behavioral problems. Her childhood has been super rough and she struggles with trusting others, especially adults who want to help. She can’t follow directions and gets easily frustrated. Sometimes she walks out of class. 

I take the time to get to know her. Her interests and worries and home life. It takes a long time for her to see me as a person who cares about her. An adult who wants to see her succeed outside of school. 

Once she fully trusts me, it makes all the challenges I had with her totally worth it. 

Building relationships, I’m learning, is going to be one of the hardest parts of this job— and also one of the best. 

As a twenty-two-year-old, it can be terrifying talking to someone who is twice my age, but I’m one of those teachers who like to over-communicate to the parents about any issues with their kids. I get that a parent is going to be defensive of his or her child, but my job is to help each kid. I can 100 percent see a difference with my students whose parents listen to me and implement consequences at home. Having that parental support is critical. 

I’ve been told that a school’s administration can make or break your experience. Fortunately, I have an amazing mentor teacher. My teammates have been teaching over thirty years. They’re experienced and they take me under their wing. They’re so supportive and so helpful— as is the administration. My principal and assistant principal are amazing. Knowing these people have my back, I feel very lucky. Blessed. 

Like most teachers, I’m a people pleaser. I’m not direct or blunt, and I’m always trying to make sure I’m not hurting anyone’s feelings or stepping on anyone’s toes. 

But I’ll pose these questions: 

How can we reduce America’s teacher shortage?
How can we lessen teacher burnout?
Pay them more. 

No one works harder or longer than teachers. No one invests more of their personal time and money on going above and beyond for their students. When it comes to classroom resources, we’re always buying things out of our own pockets. If it’s 85 degrees out and parents can’t (or won’t) give their kid a water bottle, I’m going to buy them a water bottle, because kids need to drink water. 

If we want to make our classrooms better, teachers need more support. 

Now is the most important time for teachers to speak out and find our voices. People can’t understand what it’s like to be a teacher until they’re put in our shoes. 

Excerpted from Thank You, Teachers: True Stories from America's Teachers, Our Last Line of Defense and Our First Line of Hope by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, published by Little, Brown and Company. Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.

About the Authors

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
 
Matt Eversmann retired from the Army after twenty years of service. His first book with James Patterson was Walk in My Combat Boots.