Philip Bigler recently retired as the director of the James Madison Center for Liberty & Learning. He continues to work to help improve the quality of teaching while advancing academic excellence. Professor Bigler is a frequent speaker and presenter at conferences throughout the nation and is the director of the annual Virginia Teachers of Promise Institute.
In 1998, Mr. Bigler was selected as the National Teacher of the Year during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House hosted by then President, Bill Clinton. A highly acclaimed history teacher for over 30 years, Bigler is widely recognized for his innovative methods, use of technology and commitment to teaching. He is a sought after keynote speaker and has appeared on numerous television programs including Late Night with David Letterman, Good Morning America, and Nightline. Bigler is the author of six books and is currently working on his seventh. Tentatively entitled Scandalous Son, the book is the fascinating but tragic story of James Madison’s step son, Payne Todd. It is scheduled for publication during the spring of 2011.
“An old proverb asserts that "Civilization begins anew with each child." As an educator, I have found this statement to be both a vision of optimism as well as a dire warning. On one hand, our students are the intellectual heirs to Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Newton; the inheritors of a rich legacy of human progress traversing three millennia. Conversely, if we fail to successfully teach and educate our young people, we are just one generation removed from barbarism. I have always seen my role as a teacher to facilitate student learning in what will be a life-long quest for knowledge, to help ignite in them the spark of enlightenment, to motivate their interest, and to cultivate their minds.”
Liberty & Learning received the silver medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for outstanding biography in 2010.
About Philip Bigler on the Council for Chief State School Officers’ website.
Philip Bigler’s “Thoughts on Teaching”
Teacher Magazine Article entitled Mr. Bigler’s Big Adventure
Great Teacher Videos
“We need more teachers like Philip Bigler and all our other honorees in every classroom in America today, for it is they who can make our schools the best in the world.”
President Bill Clinton
"In Phil's classroom learning is real. Phil's students come to love learning on their own terms and that skill will last them a lifetime."
Dr. Ernest Fleishman, Senior Vice President of Education
Scholastic In
National Teacher of the Year