Public schools and the work of teachers / Sonia Nieto -- Kids are far more than test scores or why I continued to teach in spite of it -- All / Mary Ginley -- Staying true to why I teach / Nina Tepper -- Looking forward backwards : teaching freedom and democracy in the classroom / Berta Berriz with Alice McCabe, Jerry Pisani, Amanda Smallwood, Taryn Snyder -- Lesley strang, jeffrey timberlake, and erica welch -- Somos maestras : our journey to self confidence, our passion to inspire -- Others : two sisters write about identity, advocacy, and activism / Jennifer Burgos-Carnes and Vanessa Burgos-Kelly -- Snow drifts, rattlesnakes, and the children I love : the life of a rural teacher on the prairie / Missy M. Urbaniak -- Journey down a different path / Pamelyn Williams -- Teaching in the now : a mini-essay and a poem / Christina Puntel -- Creating spaces that breathe hope / Mary Jade Haney -- Same as it never was : on my return to teaching / Gregory Michie -- Teaching chemistry, impacting lives / John Levasseur -- Coming into full humanity through teaching, sharing, and connecting / Matthew Hicks -- Teaching to save our lives / Sharim Hannegan-Martinez -- Teaching jack, and other joys of working with special children / Eileen Blanco Dougherty -- Teaching in the invisible spaces / Chuck Greanoff -- The activist teacher / Heather Brooke Robertson -- Teaching for social justice and community empowerment / Jorge Lopez -- Doing social justice work through math / Mary Cowhey -- Teaching on the frontline / Maria Rosario -- We can win : social justice advocacy inside and out of the classroom / Jesse Hagopian -- Becoming the teacher I am today / Amanda Vandehei -- Indispensable me (wouldn't that be nice?) / Criselda Guerra -- Jumping off cliffs and touching the ground with wings / Michael Silverstone -- Conclusion : why on earth teach now? / Sonia Nieto