It is interesting to realize it took over three years to get here. I always thought an author would have an idea, write it down, find a publisher, do some editing, and voilà, the book is published and ready for readers to purchase in no time flat. Well, it isn’t as easy as that in reality, at least not for me.
For me, after I had my idea, I had to wrestle with some insecurities. Is the idea sound? Is there a book like it out there already? Will I have enough information? And the hardest of all, who am I to think I have anything anyone would want to read?
One person in particular really had an influence on my decision to move forward, believing in me, and has always been a cheerleader for me, Carole, whom has known me since I entered the field of education over 20 years ago. When I first told her of my plan at dinner during her visit through New Mexico, she had great words of encouragement. For that, I will be eternally grateful.
There are several others, including Carole, who too have helped me through my journey and revising/editing process: Lisa , Rob, Joe, Roberta, and of course, my husband Richard. Without their sincerest, and candid, feedback and suggestions, and patience, my book, If You Care, They Will Learn: Creating the Classroom You Would Want for Your Own Children (available now in paperback and on Kindle), would not have seen the light of day.
I chose to self-publish using Amazon’s KDP program as Amazon is one of the first places I look for a mentor text. The KDP program allows anyone to self-publish in whatever format one wishes at, what I believe, to be fair pricing, and is easy to use. Although it eliminates the middleman so to speak, it also means any promotions and such will come down to me.
My goal is to provide a text which can be read over a weekend and implemented on Monday, about helping educators do what they do best, creating safe learning environments for their students. Educators, families, and students want classrooms to be places in which students want to come back to everyday because they know they are loved and cared for in them. Throughout the book educators—teachers and classroom aides—will find strategies, examples and ideas that will help create a rewarding environment and get to what is expected of educators, to teach.
I would like to request and invite you to share the title and where one can purchase a copy of my book with all of the educators in your lives. If I may be so bold, it would make a great gift for someone you know who is pursuing teaching as a career, a pre-service or first year teacher, and even someone who has been in the classroom for a few years. It would also make for a short, but informative, summer read, a book to put on your reading stack on the bedside table.
Thank you in advance for your support. And, thank you to all the educators out there doing their best each and every day!
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 