Looking Back, I Was WRONG About a Few Things

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the work you’re proudest of also leaves you standing alone? In 2006, nearly a thousand educators were nominated—and I was named Educator of the Year. My family attended the banquet. People shook my hand. For one unforgettable evening, I allowed myself to believe that everything my students and I had built truly mattered. Then Monday morning came. The congratulatory message outside my school was gone by lunchtime. The hallways felt different. Conversations st...