The Work That Your Paid Subscription Helps to Support

It’s been over three years since I worked full-time as a history teacher. My teaching career began in Alabama and continued in Virginia and most recently here in Massachusetts and has spanned both the college and high school levels. As much as I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to write and work with history educators around the country, through different organizations, I miss the kids.

People who suggest that young people are not interested in history have never stepped foot in the classroom. There is an excitement and passion for history that you just can’t capture anywhere else.

The one upside about the pandemic is that teachers are now much more willing and able to invite guest speakers in from the outside to talk with their students. This work means everything to me. Though it isn’t full-time teaching and I don’t have the opportunity to work with the same students over the course of the year, it does allow me to keep one foot (perhaps toe) in the classroom.

I do as much of this work as I can given my other obligations. One thing that I have found, however, is that many teachers don’t have the resources to financially compensate outside speakers. One of the reasons I turned on paid subscriptions, two years ago this week, was to help offset these limitations.

Because of your paid support I am able to visit, in person or virtually, at a reduced rate or in some cases even for free.

Two weeks ago I talked with students and faculty at a small college in Tennessee that didn’t have the funds to compensate me financially. I was able to appear thanks to you and today I was pleasantly surprised to receive a small token of appreciation from this teacher.

I thought I would share just a bit from the letter:

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to present. To be honest, we have really struggled to get students engaged since the pandemic and this topic drew the largest audience I’ve seen in years! My class—who are generally subdued—were remarkably enthusiastic in their praise.

As you might imagine, this small gesture just made my week.

Thank you for helping to make it possible.