Over the years, many people have asked me what inspired me to write my first book Chalkboard Champions. I guess a large part of it had to do with coming home every night after spending another day investing my ALL into my kids, my lesson plans, my classroom, lugging a pile of papers to grade the size of Mount Everest back and forth to school, and then coming home to turn on the television, only to hear some politician or news commentator bemoaning the sad condition of “failing schools.” How demoralizing!

Anyone who spends any time at all in schools knows that there is much more success than failure going on there! In any work environment I have been a part of in the forty years of my work history, I have never seen a more hardworking, dedicated group of individuals than the teachers, administrators, and support staff that worked at my school. And because I communicate with teachers from all over the country, I can tell this dedication and work ethic are shared by professional educators everywhere. The world is full of amazing teachers, and these Chalkboard Champions, present and past, need to be celebrated!

I love to share stories about remarkable teachers, and there are so many wonderful and inspirational stories to be told! I simply selected twelve of them throughout American history to explore in my book. My hope is that these stories will revive the spirit of the professional educator and cultivate respect and appreciation for the teaching profession from the general public. Why not add these stories to your summer reading list? The book can be found on amazon at the following link: Chalkboard Champions.