A Note from the Authors
You picked up this book because you are about to teach elementary school, are already teaching it, or have someone you love teaching it, and you want to understand what is happening to them. Any of those is a good reason.
We wrote it because the gap between teacher preparation and the first day of actual teaching is so large that most new teachers spend their first year just trying not to fall through it. The culture of the profession, with its stoic self-sacrifice and its deep aversion to admitting difficulty, makes it almost impossible to ask for help without feeling like you are confirming a fear. We thought someone should just say the true things out loud, as clearly and as honestly as possible, and preferably in a way that does not make you want to put the book down. Let's be honest - you probably already have a bookshelf, or two, full of books that were once pushed on you and then you never read again.
We have collectively spent over forty years as educators, school psychologists, educational consultants, credential coaches, and national presenters working with educators across the country. We have seen the Sunday scaries and the Monday blues many times. We know what it means. We know what helps. This is that book. Written for educators, by educators.
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Kati Begen
Michael White
