Spring Semester Survival Guide

Hiya Profs,

I hope you are enjoying winter break--getting a little rest, having a little fun, crafting and enjoying life without papers, students, meetings and the general mayhem that comes with academia.

Fall 2013 was an absolute BEAST for me. I could not catch a break. It would have been nice if I could have met with the "Professors United" group for lunch or dinner and we could have commiserated and shared strategies for survival. Let's face it. We love our jobs, right? But sometimes. Sometimes...

This swap is for the "sometimes" that challenge our very existence in the classroom, in academia.

You will write a letter to your partner that provides encouragement and tips for getting through the rough patches--dealing with clueless administrators, mean-spirited colleagues, bratty students, etc.

Include with the letter something that would be useful for getting through-- such as, a calendar, a teaching journal, set of pens, doodle pads, even a set of postcards. Don't spend a lot of $$$. Use something from your stash or hit the post-holiday sales or the $1 bins at Target and Michaels!

Group rules apply.

Happy swapping!