This is me as a new teacher (yes, we actually had chalk boards then!) back in 2000. I had a lot to learn about how to manage my life as a new public school educator.
Now, 25 years later, Penny Bishop and I have a book out today just for new and beginning teachers called Real Talk for New Teachers: Tools for a Sustainable Career (with Routledge). We deeply hope it helps educators build a humane and sustainable career in teaching. The book is loaded with advice from veteran teachers, new research on how to fight burnout, and opportunities for reflection and building your own personalized plan. I wish I had this book back then, would have saved me many a sleepless night and helped me to enjoy more of my life.
You can find it at your local indie, the publisher, or online retailer.We’d be so honored if you shared this with your educator circles, mentor program leaders, principals, and new teachers. Please reach out if you are interested in reviewing the book or want to review a copy for your course or school.
Happy summer, teachers, you did it!
PS- I am pretty sure I still have these pants. And they are back in style. 🙂
Ah, spring. Recently, I cheered my pre-service teachers on at graduation, as they waved at loved ones, smiled, and took in the moment. I’ve listened and given advice as they interviewed, did guest teaching, and landed teaching jobs in Vermont and beyond. They are a bright and talented bunch, full of ideas, enthusiasm, and love for their students and the craft.
I wish them ALLLLL the success. ❤️
I want teaching to be a fulfilling and sustainable profession for them—one where they can thrive without sacrificing their well-being, identity, or personal lives.
I wanted to write something that helped shorten the learning curve for new and beginning teachers. Something that helped them develop a plan right from the beginning. And that is what Penny Bishop, my co-author and fellow champion of new and beginning teachers (and Dean of the Wheelock School of Education at Boston University), tried to do with our new book, Real Talk for New Teachers: Tools for a Sustainable Career.
I’m happy to report that pre-orders (at your favorite bookstore or online retailer) are now open! I hope as students are graduating and launching into their careers, they can create a sustainable plan for teaching that supports them (and beginning teachers, too).
“Real Talk for New Teachers is a MUST for anyone entering the teaching field or in their first years of teaching! This book makes teaching feel “doable” in a holistic manner that starts with the self (living healthily) and moves toward collaborating with others and becoming a leader in the profession.”
—Dr. Stacy Simonyi, Assistant Professor of Education at Saint Michael’s College
Our country needs desperately teachers that are inspiring, engaged, brave, knowledgeable, compassionate, caring and healthy. Teachers that can move through complex emotions, develop strong communities, and work to provide equity, access, belongingness, opportunity and access for their students.
After a long day of teaching and hosting 120 kids on campus, I opened this box of Advanced Reader Copies and THE BOARD became real. Calm is my middle name, obviously.
I wrote this book in the early AM hours, on my couch, while slugging coffee, before heading in to teach fifth graders during the pandemic. My nerves were shot. My eyes were red and barely open. But the world of small town school politics, board takeovers, and narcissistic leaders, took shape in my mind. And the story, well, it is eerily familiar to what many communities (and dare I say, the country) are facing right now, with book banning, funding being pulled for teaching accurate history and practicing inclusion, though taken to the extreme. THE BOARD, over many early mornings and cups of coffee, was born.
THE BOARD is now open for SIGNED pre-orders from my brave, steady, and super informed local bookstore, Bear Pond Books. For these pre-orders I will go down to Bear Pond, happily sit there, and sign them before they ship. In fact, I am super excited to do so. I LOVE this bookstore and effort to support them while also sharing this story with you. And, you’ll get the first signed copies of THE BOARD, delivered to you on the pub day of September 9th!
Here is a blurb about the book (for which I am so grateful):
“Katy Farber writes with verve about the Machiavellian politics of small towns, and the dark secrets they hide. Clever and propulsive, this taut mystery will keep you turning pages until the end.” —Thomas Christopher Greene, bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife
Thank you for considering, for reading, and for supporting your local indie bookstore!
