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One year ago, I made the decision to write down what I hoped for The Educator’s Room. It took me many tries, but when I finally hit publish, I was confident that 2017 would be the year where things would become easier for not only the writers of The Educator’s Room but for education as a whole. We had just endured a particularly spiteful and hate-filled presidential election here in the United States and to make matters worse, teachers around the world were still being scapegoated for all of the ills of society.

So we did what we do best, we decided to continue to “dig deep” and write about all things education. In the end, us staying focused on writing we were able to :

In addition to the writing, we did something that’s been in our heart for a while, we produced our first Teacher Self-Care Workshop here in Atlanta, Georgia. This first year we decided to make it a one-day event and we had over 150+ plus teachers attend. Our workshops, speakers, and the overall event helped us realize that teachers need REAL programming to address their self-care.

Needless to say by December, our writers were exhausted, especially considering they experienced professional joys and setbacks just like the rest of us. In 2017, they experienced:

  • the birth of children, the news of engagements after unexpected divorces,
  • the grueling process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher,
  • the chance for publishing their books with large publishing houses,
  • obtaining administrative licenses, starting Ph.D. programs, and pushing themselves professionally just to name a few.

As we go into 2018, I think we’re all relieved to have made it through a hard year, but even more focused on what we have to do this year. Instead, of promising to continue to do what we do, we instead plan to make 2018 the year to help teachers live their best lives possible.

How?

It’s  simple, we pledge to:

  • create relevant content written by teachers for teachers on a daily basis.
  • produce programming that gets to the heart of what teachers need- whether it’s our 2018 Teacher Self-Care Conference or our planned Pop-Up Shops for teachers, we’re committed to making the best use of our teacher’s time.
  • create real opportunities for teachers to get the assistance they need through courses, discussions, videos, etc.
  • record relevant podcast episodes on topics teachers need to discuss but are routinely only discussed in the teacher lounge.

To all of our writers, I want to say a very public “THANK YOU” because you take time away from your students, family, and own hopes to pour into The Educator’s Room. Because of you, we’ve been able to move mountains with an almost non-existent budget and resources. I would like to take the time to thank the following writers for being total ROCK STARS for this entire year and for taking leading the charge for a change in education.

Thank you to…

  • our subscribers who have stuck with us through “thick and thin”. We love you and respect you as teacher experts.
  • Cari H., our Editor who literally keeps me sane when I feel like giving up. Even though we’re thousands of miles apart, we couldn’t be closer!
  • Teresa Cooper for writing a hotly contested article around biases for students who are identified as students with disabilities.
  • Jake M. for constantly being reminded that his article on Gum Chewing in Class is still an article that gets the most hits in a day.
  • Kasele M. who through an article she wrote after attending a workshop by Rochelle Guiterrez at NCTM, received some unsavory comments yet she remained a rock of professionalism and love.
  • Laura H., George C., Shawnta B., Dr. Aimee C., Dr. Riina H., Dawn C., Candice Y., Jess F., Bailey C., Laura B., Cristy F., Jason D., Katie L., Maria K., Krissa M., Pedro C., Scott P., Sherlene M., Stacey M., Stacey O., Susan B., Vivett D., for joining our writing staff.
  • Lori, Jake, Jeremy, Jennifer, Alicia, Paula, Whitney, Mike, Colette, Daisy, Lee-Ann, Jackie, Linda, Katie, Ruben, Sarah, Dan, Amy, and Traci for being with the site for so long. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to grow as we have.

In the end, we pledge to continue to be here for teachers in 2018 just like we’ve done for the last 5 years. As always, we’d love to hear what you need for us this year. Happy New Year!

 

For fifteen years Franchesca taught English/Language Arts in two urban districts in Atlanta, Georgia,...

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