Life & Work with Angel Marie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Marie.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Alongside others, I was raised by my mother; though not single-handedly, my grandparents were a huge part of my life. My grandfather instilled strength and resilience in me, while my grandmother trained me to use such traits in situations I otherwise may’ve let gone to waste. My mother, well, everything good and pure about me is because of her. She is perfect in every way. The three of them together are the absolute shape of me and I wouldn’t have it another way.

I had no doubt that I had the support system to be an educator. I knew that it was a difficult profession, however, I had no idea the stress I would endure over the next several years.

I always wanted to blog, and share my own experiences of teaching. I want to share how teaching has not only build me up, but it has also torn me down; I want to break barriers, tear down the walls, understand what is misunderstood, and bring awareness to misconceptions in general. Teaching is something that will always be with me, it is something that will never go away in the world because learning will never cease to exist either. What my grandparents and my mother did for me, I want to do for others: provide a safe haven, because at the end of each day, no matter what profession we are in, we are all human and we all need a safe place to return to.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think anything in the world is a smooth road, especially in the education system. Educators have to learn to say no, boundaries have to be set within the field of teaching. Within this system, unfortunately, it will always be flawed, but I want to form a community that will help us bring more of the same together.

For my road specifically, it’s been rough. I am actually anonymous on social media. There are not a lot of people in my life that know about my blog, or any of my social media accounts. I do it because of privacy reasons and for protection. I hope one day I will feel safe enough to share more of myself with everyone, but until then, I have to live like XOXO Gossip Girl.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I go by Angel Marie, or A.M., I’ve been a teacher for over five years, currently, I teach Kindergarten. I’m most proud of the fact that I haven’t given up on this career because it can be VERY tempting so I’m proud that I power through. What sets me apart from others is that I set boundaries, I learned early on in this profession to speak professionally when things bother me, or when I don’t agree with something that is said or set out by the district. I’ve also learned to be careful because retaliation is real.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Because I am anonymous, I look for support in words of affirmation, or opportunities. I love to help people, but I don’t typically seek it (a flaw — for sure). The biggest thing for me is that people understand that these experiences I talk about are mine, and it doesn’t discredit the experiences of others, I want to use them to better support others, and I hope others will do the same for me in return: share their stories with me.

Contact Info:

• Email: changeteaching1@gmail.com
• Website: https://changeteaching.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changeteaching/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Change-Teaching-101241625784381