Dear Santa,Well, another Christmas has come and almost gone. I want to thank you for all the wonderful gifts you left under our tree again this year. You brought a lot of smiles to a lot of faces, and really helped to make this Christmas one of the best ever.
Still, there are a few more things that I was hoping to find under the tree this year. I don't mean to be ungrateful, and I know that you and your elves work really hard up there in the North Pole. So I thought that if I sent my list for next year a little early that maybe you could throw a few of these extras into your sack and drop them down the chimney next year - if it's not too much trouble. So here are a few things that would make this old teacher really happy.
First, I would like to have the respect that is due a caring and dedicated professional. After all, I have devoted my life to teaching, and I like to think that what I do is just as important as the work done by doctors, lawyers, and other people who seem to get a lot more respect from most folks than I do. I don't think this is exactly fair, and I know it prevents a lot of really good people from becoming teachers. I mean, how can we expect our students to respect us when so many of their parents don't believe in us. I guess you would know what that's like.
Could you also arrange for the media to cover more of the good things that teachers do day in and day out? Sometimes it seems that most of the stories I read in the paper and see on the evening news are about how bad teachers are and how our schools are failing. I know that some of this is true, but it doesn't tell the whole story. A little good news about teachers might help a lot. A good friend of mine just won a national teaching award, and it barely made the papers. She is a great teacher and a wonderful person, and I think people should know about the good work she does everyday. Don't you agree?
While you are at it, could you please do something about salaries for beginning teachers? I work with a lot of very talented and committed new teachers who are barely getting by. Most first year teachers in my area can't afford to live in the district they teach in, and this makes it harder for them to do a good job in the classroom. It's pretty hard to focus on lesson plans sometimes when you can't pay the rent. Do you see what I mean? I hope so.
Next year it would also be great if my colleagues and I could have a little more support from our administrators and superintendents. It seems more and more that teachers get left out in the cold whenever there is a problem involving a student or a grade. It would really help a lot if we were supported more when it comes to problems like students cheating or disrupting classes. Do you think this is asking too much?
Also, I would really like to have more time to grade papers and prepare exciting lesson plans instead of always doing paperwork and going to meetings. Most teachers I know work all day and then go home and grade papers and prepare lessons until late in the evening. That's because we don't have time during the school day to do the things that are really essential to good student learning.
And then there is one other thing. Could you please give us smaller classes next year? I have seen the number of students in all of my classes increase steadily for some time now. This makes it hard to give my students the individual attention they need and deserve. I am putting this request last, but it really should be first because I think it will really make a difference - not just for me but for my students.
So, Santa, that's my Christmas list for next year. I am giving you and your elves plenty of time to work on this so hopefully it won't be too much of an extra burden on you and all your little helpers.
Thanks again for the socks, and say hi to Rudolph for me!
Sincerely,
Your Favorite Teacher
