Today's teachers need encouragement. Too many have lost their passion and purpose as a result of high-stakes testing, lack of administrative support, and the endless stream of unsuccessful reforms. Over half of new teachers today leave the profession before their fifth year. Many veteran teachers are merely hanging on until retirement. Classroom management is more difficult with each passing year. The current generation of students, who have always been 'connected' to the digital world, are becoming disconnected with school. Media outlets and governmental leaders tighten the screws to the breaking point. More and more programs, reforms, laws and curricula are added to teachers' plates but very few are removed. The burden is heavy. Many teachers are frustrated, discouraged and simply tired. This book, Ripple Maker: Teaching Effectively and Loving It , promises to encourage teachers everywhere and help them rediscover the passion they once had for teaching. Using his 33-year teaching career as a guide, Davis Laughlin helps all educators become more effective than they have ever been. From his early years of mediocrity to his later years of award-winning impact, Laughlin shares a few valuable tips he picked up along the way. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of all, you will relate to this book and find something helpful in it. Laughlin's common sense style and research-based insight are just the recipe for all teachers who would like to teach more effectively with a greater joy. In the hands of an honest, dedicated teacher or administrator, this book will help restore the passion and purpose so many educators have been missing.