Today, the American Federation of Teachers announced its landmark Share My Lesson platform reached 2 million members, a milestone for the 10-year-old site that offers more than 400,000 free resource collections and lessons for teachers to use in their classrooms. Share My Lesson was created in 2012 and has grown into an award-winning community-based site created and maintained by the AFT, bringing together educators; parents and caregivers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; specialized instructional support personnel; union and nonunion members; education partners; and higher education professionals who have the common goal of finding and sharing the best educational resources available. With video content, free professional development, and lesson plans and resources covering every subject and content area, Share My Lesson is tailored to meet the needs of educators and their students, offering anyone planning a lesson a way to collaborate, share ideas, access best practices and engage directly with other teachers around the country.
The platform served as a lifeline for educators and caregivers during the pandemic, allowing them to source lessons and share ideas for keeping their students engaged. It also strives to offer specialized content tackling current issues in age-appropriate classroom contexts, helping educators teach about current events and sensitive subjects, including climate change, threats to democracy, social justice issues, political polarization, COVID-19, and many more.
Share My Lesson is also the go-to source for free online professional development, offering more than 700 webinars to over 250,000 educators since 2012.
AFT President Randi Weingarten said:
At a time when extremist politicians are trying to divide our communities and politicize public education by banning books, censoring curriculum and demonizing teachers, we’re focused on solutions, and getting educators and school staff the time, tools and resources they need to help kids learn and succeed. Share My Lesson has really become an incredible resource for teachers, parents and caregivers, where they can access free content, guidance on how to teach certain subjects, and just share ideas on how to bring some joy and excitement to learning. We’re thrilled that 2 million people have discovered this platform and continue to find it valuable, and we’ve loved watching it grow from a small online community to a powerhouse resource for accelerating learning. Teaching is not an easy job, but teachers are incredibly dedicated to doing it well so their kids get the skills they need to be successful. Share My Lesson is one important tool we can give our teachers to help them do that job.
In this vibrant online community, members can contribute content, collaborate, and stay up to date on the issues that matter to students and educators everywhere. Check out Randi's entire message below.
#1 Community of 2020Help us add lessons and resources to support school reopening, hybrid teaching and distance learning. Share how your community or school is supporting students by uploading resources to share with educators and parents across the country.
