Many asked for the background leading to this petition and also a chance to fill out the corresponding survey.  Both are here for you to share.    

LINK TO: THE International Educator Bill of Rights SURVEY

THE INSPIRATION: As many of you know me (I may have been or still am your teacher, counselor, student, friend or family member- lucky me!) I have dedicated my career to the international education circuit. I often wondered how long I would stay in Brazil ( it will be 14 years in January ) and how many hats I may get the opportunity to wear: HS English teacher, IB CAS Service Director, Director of College Counseling, Director of Curriculum, AP English teacher, Yearbook Advisor, Assistant Athletic Director, MS/HS Principal and Professional Development coordinator- to name a few. The glory of teaching, especially internationally, is that we have the chance to try on many challenges and are often surprised by where they may take us. Today, I am the owner of a consulting and counseling business in Porto Alegre and just accepted my nomination and position as the regional (Latin America) delegate for the International and National Associations of College Admissions Counseling (InterACAC and NACAC) .

Of course, most importantly, I am mom to Luna, age 7 (October 28th!). Two weeks ago, Luna courageously ran for Grade 1 Class Representative....and won. Her slogan 'Leave it to Luna' was more than I could have dreamed of designing as a kid just out of kindergarten. But what struck me most was her final reason for wanting to run for the position: I will support my teachers. Obviously, as a counselor, educator, administrator and mom- this resonated deeply with me on so many levels. When asked why she thought she needed to support her teachers, her response was immediate and incredibly accurate, "When my teachers are happy at work they like to teach. I mean they like it anyway because that's what they do. But they really love it; A LOT when they feel happy. Then, when they are so happy, my brain gets full of super amazin' ideas. All teachers need to be happy because then the kids can be happy too."

Once again, my old soul of a child has inspired me to look for ways to create continued unity and more support for all of our educators- whether in the classroom or at the reception desk, especially those of us that leave our home countries to work abroad or those of use that work in international teaching environments. For this reason, Luna and I invite you all to take a look at the initiative we have created on Change.org that stems from my years abroad, a huge network of colleagues, students, friends and families that love to see school employees 'happy' and the simplicity of a child's words.