I overestimated how difficult it would be for me to use this resource while burning out. The irony, of course, is that I purchased this to help remedy the fatigue from overworking. The reality is that I struggled deeply to make time for these resources on top of everything else. Maybe it’s because it was the covid year of teaching, but maybe not. Just want to be honest that this was yet another thing I felt that I was “supposed” to do but too overworked to incorporate. User error ❤️

I was so overwhelmed this school year, I simply could not find the time and energy to dig into these resources. I *wish* I had been able to fit each month’s offerings into my planning.

This is a great resource and I enjoyed looking through the materials, but they weren’t terribly useful to me as a secondary English teacher. I did think that the start up materials and other generic items were well thought out and presented.

I was looking for ways to be organized and ready out-of-the-gate as a student and new teacher just getting started in a new career.
In my opinion, this would have been a fantastic program for me – not as a student doing my practicum year. I have yet to be in my own classroom, running things as I want to see them and I think this would have been better for me as I entered my second or subsequent year of teaching. The learning curve as a new teacher is just too steep with the requirements of the must-haves and this program is all about the fine tuning and improving what you know.
I have invested the funds to join the Graduate program because I know the materials will be beneficial pretty soon, particularly with the incorporation of online strategies with our post-pandemic teaching models.

There is a lot of good information and resources. However, it was too much for me to process in one year, let alone the monthly content. It was so overwhelming that I stopped mid way through September. I am a slow processor and it sometimes take me a year to implement 1 new idea and being asked to do one new thing a week or month, I couldn’t process how that looked And became overwhelmed. It was all I could do just to listen to the podcast plus two new preps. I tried keeping up with Facebook group and got overwhelmed as well. There were so many great ideas I just found myself chasing rabbit holes all day long and couldn’t focus on what I needed to do, but didn’t know what I needed to do. The list making system did work when I used it, but I got overwhelmed and stopped using it in October. The only thing I wish was separated was elementary and secondary. It was kind of annoying having to sift through the elementary articles to get to the secondary material even though there were good ideas in elementary, it was just overwhelming. I wish there was an elementary link and a secondary link so if you wanted to get other ideas you could access it. I have joined the graduate program so that I can have lifelong access to process all of the great resources in here. I am going to try again next year and see how it goes!

The beginning of the year planning and organization ideas were very helpful, but most of the content from October to May seemed to be geared toward elementary teachers. I suppose that’s to be expected since Angela was an elementary teacher and knows that world well.

On the whole, I don’t feel like the club was that helpful for me. I did really appreciate the information given at the beginning as bonus material, but I found very few tips that actually saved me any real time. I am still incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of work involved in teaching and in the time it takes me to feel like I am even doing a semi-competent job. I felt like most of the tips were for elementary school teachers. They didn’t offer any practical advice for things like grading 120+ essays. I also find it difficult to access any of the resources in the teachers pay teachers sections that were provides as content for club members. I have no idea how to actually purchase the content without paying for it separately.

I have enjoyed being a club member and have implemented several of the strategies presented. I’ve been teaching for 10 years, and there haven’t been as many AHA moments as I had hoped in the weekly materials, but I think the club would be AMAZING for an early-career teacher. I also feel the club has much better resources for those teaching at the elementary level, though there are efforts made to meet the needs of a broad audience. Overall, I’ve gotten my money’s worth but wish there was more for secondary level teachers.

It’s a lot

The club is great for someone who is self motivated and will read and follow the instructions faithfully. I am not that person currently. When I started the club, my plan was to get a handle on my disorganized life. I discovered that I am too ADHD (yes, I have been diagnosed) and need a real person to be accountable to in order for this to work for me. This club was not priority for me as my school got a new, very challenging principal, my husband developed heart problems, I had to put my father in assisted living, and my first grandchild was born. I hope to begin the club again in June.