Laura C. Chávez-Moreno is an award-winning researcher, qualitative social scientist, and assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the Departments of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Education. She is the author of “How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America"(Harvard Education Press, 2024).

In this episode Chávez-Moreno discusses her journey from becoming a Spanish teacher in Philadelphia to pursuing a PhD in Los Angeles due to a hiring freeze. She delves into why she wrote her book, "How Schools Make Race," which explores how schools contribute to racialization, focusing on bilingual education and Latinx. Moreno also advocates for incorporating ethnic studies into bilingual programs to combat racist ideas and emphasizes the need for a progression in teaching about race, similar to how math is taught.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode107.

Setbacks are inevitable, but they don’t have to be as bad as they feel. They don’t have to be negative. They can be so many things, including growth opportunities. When we start new career journeys, we can be so focused on success. But the road to success is not often linear. As we find our way forward, the path can be filled with setbacks. It can be “make it or break it” when you start to experience obstacles. So it’s important to learn how to turn career setbacks into success.

In this episode I give you four tips on turning your stumbles into success. If setbacks are inevitable, it’s good to know how to make the best of them!

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode106.

For this episode I talk to Matt McGee, founder of MRM Education, a tutoring and college admissions consultancy that promotes academic curiosity, mental health, and confidence in students. With over a decade of experience as an admissions specialist, consultant and tutor, his intensive mentorship method has helped hundreds of students raise their grades and gain admission to Ivy Plus schools.

Matt’s method focuses on managing student expectations, mental health support, and advocating for neurodivergent students. In our talk he shares insights on building a business, the challenges of burnout, and the importance of staying connected to the core mission of supporting students' long-term success.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode105.

In this episode, I share my journey of going from kindergarten teacher to entrepreneur, detailing five stages of my career. It's a story that starts with the birth of my daughter and ends with me having to hire employees for my growing business. While Educator Forever is still growing, it was fun to look back at the beginning of it all.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode104.

Georgia O’Keefe and Christine Zuppa are co-founders of Making the Grade Project, an organization with a mission to empower educators starting with the very beginning of their careers. While they specialize in helping teachers in their home state of Massachusetts to pass the MTEL, they support teachers everywhere in setting up their classrooms and careers for success. Christine and Georgia each spent over a decade in the K-12 classroom setting before deciding it was time to make a change and support education in a different way.

In this episode, Christine and Georgia discuss their educator journeys, how to best support new teachers and how their business has evolved over the years.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode103.

Renes Lophanor, a language teacher with over 23 years of experience, discusses his journey in education, emphasizing the importance of building strong relationships with students and treating them with respect. Renes advocates for a teaching approach that values creativity, flexibility, and genuine care for students. Renes's book, "I Still Love Teaching," aims to share his insights and methods to help other teachers. He advises teachers to prioritize their well-being and encourages those leaving the classroom to leverage their skills in other educational roles.

In this episode, he shares his experiences as a substitute teacher, highlighting the challenges and benefits of this role. He also criticizes the education system while acknowledging its potential benefits.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode102.

In this episode I talk about how fun curriculum writing can be, and how it's such a creative outlet. One of my favorite things about curriculum development is that you get to think about things that are interesting in the world and bring it into the curriculum that you create.

I want you to think about when developing curriculum, you get to create what you find interesting and what you want to see out there in the world. As teachers, we can feel really boxed in by what we're told we have to teach or how we have to teach it. So working in curriculum design for me has been really an exploration and freedom. It’s why I think more teachers should try it!

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode101.

We’ve reached 100 episodes, so we’re celebrating. On this episode I've invited the wonderful Educator Forever team to join me in celebrating not just completing 100 episodes but all of the amazing work that they've done beyond the classroom.

Besides discussing our favorite episodes were, the team let’s me know what they love most about working with Educator Forever and how it’s empowered them. It gets a little emotional! But it’s a wonderful time and made me so happy to work with such fantastic people.

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode100.