Pencils Down

"Praise for Pencils Down ""Educators are rockstars. Seriously, which other professionals are able to be experts in public speaking, persuasion/influence, and data analytics... all in a single day? Which is why educators deserve a rockstar guide to building a great career. And that's exactly what Nallely Gass and Michael Beyer have designed with Pencils Down!"" -Jeremy Schifeling, Former Kindergarten Teacher and Founder of Break into Tech ""Pencils Down helps educators redefine their value proposition in the job market. Education is a tough field to be in, and we should celebrate those willing to make the sacrifice. Instead, we see constant challenges thrown at them. In this book Mike and Nallely offer examples and solutions to change directions. I recommend this book to educators wanting to keep their options open."" -Donald Hyun Kiolbassa, C.P.A., J.D. Author of Best-Selling book Tao of the Side Hustle I truly enjoyed reading Pencils Down...it is illuminating and pulled me in! When I think about the qualities that make someone truly successful, I reflect on people with passion, knowledge, and skills and that can transfer from one industry to the next. Educators aren't just meant for classrooms. They bring a unique blend of empathy, brilliance, communication skills, and the gift of making complex ideas understandable. To me, these qualities are highly regarded, resonate with diverse groups, and are undeniably valuable. -Rae Ali, Chief People Officer ""Pencils Down captures the emotions behind the difficult decision so many of us make, myself included, to leave Education for other endeavors - the feelings of anxiety and exhaustion, anger, betrayal, followed by shame and guilt, fear - not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily linear, and definitely with ebbs and flows. Once you finally surrender and commit to choose yourself: your health (both physical and mental) - you slowly start the process of healing. We didn't go into Education to want to leave it, but the system has created conditions that has made it unbearable to stay. Pencils Down helped me see my story play out in so many different nuanced ways in the lives of so many others. It made me realize that I'm not alone. However, instead of taking comfort in that, I'm frightfully afraid of what this means for the future of public education in our country. I am afraid for our children and our future generations. Pencils Down is a call to action."" -Rita Raichoudhuri, Ed.D., former Superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools"