Former Teacher

By Janis Effner, Former Educator and Professional Services Director at McGraw Hill — Educators work together for the common good. Seeing the needs of students day after day, they understand they must come together to help students survive and thrive. Educators have felt this. We have lived it. Educators have always done more than asked, but now doing more is a must in…

By Mindy Spelius, Former Educator & Academic Designer — “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou My career in education spans over twenty-five years and has been quite diverse. I started as an elementary teacher and spent several years teaching reading…

By Bill Kearney, Former Educator & McGraw Hill Sales Rep — I never planned on being a teacher. As an undergraduate in upstate New York, I studied Philosophy and English Literature and planned on being a lawyer or maybe a professor someday. Alas, here I was, and teaching is exactly what I was being asked to do. I had a lot…

By Amanda Schaffer, Former Teacher — I have a note from a student that I have kept for over a decade now. She handed it to me the day I left teaching students and shifted to teaching teachers instead. It reads, “Please don’t go, if it’s about the money, I’ll give you my allowance.” I didn’t…

By Janis Effner, Former Educator and Professional Services Director at McGraw Hill — Is anyone else feeling a sense of happiness as this new school year begins? I don’t know who is happier, parents loading up backpacks and prepping for back-to-school madness, students ready to talk with friends in-person, or teachers who want to delete their online teaching app and never look back! …

By Dan Parvu, Former Teacher and Assistant Principal — Names have been changed to preserve the privacy of those involved in this story. When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher, Mr. Campbell, who I dearly loved, let us know that one of our classmates, Mark, was diagnosed with leukemia and would not be in class for a…

By Lisa O’Hara, Former Teacher and Senior Academic Designer — Let’s look back to the first day of school the first time you taught. I don’t know about you other current and former teachers out there, but my realization at that first-period bell was, “I have no idea how to teach.” I had read over the rosters for each class…

By Dr. Sara Bhonsale, Former Educator — When all is said and done, your relationship with your students is what matters more than anything. That is what they remember and your connection with them determines what they learn in your class, be it both positive or negative. Really though, think back to your favorite teacher. You remember…

By Becky McDowell, Science Curriculum Writer — In my work for McGraw Hill, I develop lesson components for digital articles and texts to engage students and provide lesson options for teachers. …