Why We Chose Education
Dear Learning Partners.
People often ask us why we continue to write books, publish a weekly blog, host a podcast, and spend so much of our time speaking with educators and families.
The answer is simple.
Because we still believe in the power of education.
Long before Ask the Educators existed, we each entered education for the same reason: we believed that one caring adult could change the trajectory of a child’s life.
Over the years, our roles have evolved. We became teachers, speech-language professionals, school leaders, consultants, speakers, authors, and trainers. We’ve worked with thousands of students, families, and educators. Yet one thing has never changed.
We came to realize that the greatest challenges in education were rarely about curriculum. More often, they centered on people and relationships.
👉Parents and school districts misunderstand one another.
👉Teachers feel unheard or unsupported.
👉Leaders are working to navigate change while building trust.
👉Families and students simply want someone to truly listen.
Those experiences inspired us to co-author our books: Navigating Special Education, The Power of Building Positive Parent-Educator Partnerships and Conversations Lead to Consensus. They also lead to Peggy’s TEDx talk, Redefining the Parent Teacher Relationship, our Ask the Educators podcasts, and now this Substack community.
Each step has reflected the same mission: strengthen communication, foster meaningful conversations, and build stronger partnerships among educators, families, and communities. Together, these efforts have become the foundation of Ask the Educators, always working on behalf of children.
When conversations improve, relationships improve.
When relationships improve, collaboration follows.
And when adults work together, children benefit.
Every blog we write is grounded in one belief: education deserves thoughtful conversations, not political ones, not divisive ones, but conversations that help us all become better educators, parents, leaders, and lifelong learners.
Whether we are writing about teaching students how to think, embracing artificial intelligence responsibly, ethics, assessment, collaboration, communication, or leadership, the topics are never isolated. They all point to one central idea:
Education is about preparing young people to live thoughtful, meaningful, productive lives.
30 years later, we still believe what first drew us to education:
⭐Children deserve adults who continue to learn.
⭐Educators deserve support from colleagues, administrators, and families.
⭐Families deserve to be valued as trusted partners in their child’s education.
Most of all, we believe that meaningful conversations remain the most powerful tool we have for making education better.
That is why we continue to write.
That is why we continue to speak.
That is why Ask the Educators exists.
One educator, one family, and one meaningful conversation can still change a child’s life.
Warmly, Peggy & Tamara
⭐Because better outcomes begin with better conversations.
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