An Open Letter to Support Your Teachers

An Open Letter To Support Your Teachers

June, 2017

Dear School District Administrators, Personnel Heads, Professional Development Managers, Principals and Head Teachers:

You can give your teachers a warm hug of support that will last an entire school year.

A school year has ended and another waits in the wings. If they are at all like the teachers I’m familiar with, your teaching staff is probably hard at work right now closing their books, leaping into days to recharge with family and friends and also exploring a variety of professional learning tools and events in preparation for next year. They never stop.

My name is Susan Baumgartner, and I would like to introduce you to a book I’ve written to help your amazing teachers get a weekly boost throughout the 2017-18 school year.

Based upon my lifetime of experiences and philosophical thought and 5 years as an elementary educational assistant, Dear Teachers is a guided journal for today’s educator. It contains 40 beautiful nature photos taken by my friend and elementary health room professional, Marlene Oswald, tied to 40 of my own essays on a variety of teacher-specific themes. In addition, there is space each week for the reader to add their own thoughts. An entire year’s worth of experience can be captured in this single, 88 page paperback.

I think of Dear Teachers as a friend that can sit on a teacher’s desk or in their bag, waiting with a positive word or picture at the ready or simply acting as a space to listen as the teacher journals. Some teachers have said they plan to sit down with Dear Teachers on Sunday mornings with a cup of tea or coffee before preparing for their week. What a great idea to embrace!

To assist with the connection of writer, book and reader, I’ve established a closed Facebook page readers are invited to join. I will post additional information weekly and readers may also share if/when they wish.

We are in this together.

I would love to discuss with you ways my book could help you support your teachers. Amazon offers Prime shipping directly to you from the printer. I also have signed copies that we can arrange special shipping and pricing for based on volume orders in the US. UK orders can be placed here.

PD events, in special gift baskets and in tool kits for your teachers or new hires are some of the opportunities my book can be used in. I am also available for speaking events.

I look forward to talking with you and wish you all the best today and throughout the year!

Sincerely,

Susan Baumgartner

Author, Dear Teachers

Blog: verbostratis.com

Twitter: @sbaumgartner94

Email: dearteachers2017@gmail.com

Phone: (262)787-8770

The Bell

The weather has warmed up enough that I sit at my kitchen table writing with the windows open. Humid breezes brimming with the sounds of spring are brushing my bare arms; it’s a rich pattern of bird song, wind chimes, trembling tree leaves and construction traffic. Suddenly, there’s a new sound.

Wafting in from a distance comes the buzz of a school bell.

Personally and professionally, this sound has regularly ran my life, as it has with most people at some point. Today, it reminds me of bigger bells.

The old Metallica song is going through my head: “Time marches on. For whom the bell tolls…” (Sorry, Mr. Hemingway, for once I’m not going to cite only great literature.)

While I think the chiming melodies they use in Japan are far more soothing than the jarring ones we typically use here in The States, school bells can be great reminders for us. Set goals. Follow a schedule. Go for it every single day.

Time goes by regardless.

The zing of springtime reminds us also to ENJOY it. Don’t just work for work’s sake. Don’t just trudge through something with no interest or excitement. Like the kids on the playground before the start of a school day- let’s laugh and move with enthusiasm. Tensions and worries abound. Some live with violence and fear at their very doorsteps. If it’s nothing more than telling your feet you’re glad they are carrying you today, then so be it.

The end of the current school year is within sight here. The bell will be silenced for a while. Time will tick on, however. Let’s embrace its movement and keep moving forward.

I thank my readers for your time. Speaking of time, there is still some to order & receive a copy of my book, Dear Teachers, before this school year ends!

Parents: Dear Teachers would make a thoughtful gift to end the school year, as it’s filled with messages of support. I will also have a Facebook page through the 2017-18 school year to offer weekly followup all year.

Principals & Administration: Please consider Dear Teachers as a gift to a special teacher or to your entire team. Writing and photography from artists working with teachers for teachers.

Teachers: You always take care of others, treat yourself to a year of positive vibes and room to write your own thoughts for well, all for well below $20. You deserve it- you are Dear!