Be REAL Book Resources

Tara’s book feels like I’m sitting down for coffee with her, and she’s sharing wisdom right from her heart to mine. Her personal stories and experience make her wisdom all-the-more REAL. I felt encouraged and nudged to look at my own teaching life (no, my whole life) and ask, “where am I going to cannonball in?” I’ll be sharing this book with all my teacher friends.

This book is gold! Simply put Tara Martin is a new hero of mine. I knew Be Real would be amazing but she knocked it out of the park in ways one doesn’t expect to see from an educational journey. This is because she is the epitome of personal and REAL.

In fact even the neurological research she so beautifully presents comes from a deep desire to help every human being she encounters. From stories of her childhood that will shake you to your core to learning the difficult challenges Tara’s colleagues and former students faced, you will want to get up and cheer for all of the broken crayons in the world to be the people they were born to be. And more importantly you will be inspired to find them in your classroom, in your school, and empower them with everything you’ve got. 

Tara’s R.E.A.L acronym as well as the strategies exploding within it can be applied from any role and will serve as motivation to put relationships first at the heart of education where they are meant to be. Tara hooks the reader in and provides a structure for prioritizing rapport so all of us can do something tomorrow.

In addition, I believe a major perk is getting to know this incredible author as rockstar human and even statewide recognized kickboxer! Not only is that cool but she even uses her kickboxing experience to make all of us better at what we do every single day. So please do not wait to read this book! “Cannonball in” and I am confident you will not want to put it down. This is not a book to hold, but one to hug and come back to forever.

I’ve never met Tara Martin. She doesn’t know me. But I’d swear she wrote a book just for me! Be REAL: Educate From the Heart by Tara Martin (@TaraMartinEDU) was truly written for just for me. I know this because it speaks directly to my heart. Its made me ponder the teacher I have been, the educator I am and the person I want to be. No, Tara hasn’t met me (YET!) but she does seem to know me very well!

When I started this journey with Tara, she revealed herself to me. She immediately became relatable. Her story speaks to me, not because my story was similar but because it was REAL She owns her story and because of that, she can relate to others.

This book is a story of an inspirational educator's journey. She takes you on that journey and your grow along side her! This book is a must read for all educators--teachers, coaches and administrators! It will challenge you to change and grow!

Tara is a master of the use of metaphor- Creating space for the reader to fill in the gaps, make connections and create patterns. As a fellow neuroscience nerd, 40+ year educators and author I found the book pulling me into the story of her journey as an educator while, providing ways to build strong relationships with learners. As a sketchnoter the images she creates were powerful – “The entire scene was a junkyard of lousy decisions stacked one upon another.” As I read, I was reminded of Parker Palmer's book The Courage to Teach. Kudos Tara for a soulful message wrapped up in good writing.