Ah, election time. You can hear the happy citizenry delightfully and kindly debating the merits of each other’s preferred candidate, both of whom present a truthful and glorious roadmap into a prosperous future guaranteed to last. Most wonderful of all, of course, is their always-unbroken promise to help make our students their number-one priority. You know: for the future!
And then we wake up.
I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. You probably wouldn’t like him anyway. Yet I am here to take your pulse. Your symptoms? Shrinking education budgets, ever-tightening standards, having a job that some people consider enviable and others consider wasteful (because you only work 8 to 3 and you get summers off!), and you’re subject to the whims and opinions of administrators and elected officials who haven’t spent a day in the classroom since their schooling was completed.
Celebrated or demonized, it’s tough being a teacher in an election year, or any year, for that matter. At The Mailbox, it’s our aim to support you everyday with tips, ideas, and resources that work in your classroom. If you’ve got standards you’re teaching to, our activities help you meet them. If you have students with special needs, we can help. If you’re a first-year teacher trying to find your way, we’ll get you organized. If you’re just a few years from retiring, our tools and projects will keep your classroom feeling fresh. But we also care about how you’re doing.
So how are you feeling? What’s it like being a teacher where you are today?