READ WORTHY

Rassias, the One and OnlyBreakthrough: Essays and Vignettes inHonor of John A. Rassias, a festschrift edited by Mel B. Yoken (Peter Long Publishing, 2007) costs a hefty $82.95 on Amazon.com, but some of the observations about the iconic Dartmouth prof are, to sound like a MasterCard ad, priceless:

"If there were an American Idol for teachers John Rassias would get all the votes. Depending on his partner, he could probably win Dancing with the Stars, too. But John's secret is not about popularity contests or stage antics. His genius is a different kind—sort of a star power in reverse: the ability to motivate every learner he meets to become his or her best self."

Rebecca Randall '81

"Rassias isn't just about classrooms, stages, props and the dynamics of learning and teaching, he is about living."

John W. Oiler Jr. University of Louisiana at Lafayette

"An encounter with someone like Rassias goes further toward nurturing such values as tolerance, truth, respect and freedom than any amount of information about the social or political benefits of the social values."

Robert Lindsey, U.S. Embassy, Pretoria

"As I've grown older and had kids of my own, I've come to realize how rare, magnificent and powerful John's complete faith and belief in kids is."

Robert Cavanaugh '76

"His heroism manifests itself in his ability to conquer the minds of Dartmouth students and always respect their singularity as students."

Professor Lawrence Kritzman