Maybe it's not fair to imitate students, but it's so tempting sometimes

Dear Person,

All I want for Christmas is students who want to learn. It'd be even better if they have basic skills, like how to address a letter; how to spell words like "juss," "cud," and "divid" correctly; how to multiply 2 times 4 without looking at a multiplication table or needing to correct themselves; "and how to sit in a little, uncomfortable desk for nearly half a day." I'm not asking that they even know the stuff I tried to teach this semester, just that they're at a point where they can learn it (and everything else) next semester. That'll be a miracle enough.

If you're feeling extra generous, toss in some extra organization for my school. Make the scheduling nightmares be fixed. Pull something out of your bag of tricks that will help the administration gain the staff's trust. Because the chaotic, all-day registration where no one knows what's going on or what's really required for graduation just made everyone grouchy.

Could you also give the resource room aides the background knowledge to be able to tutor the students in whatever we're teaching them? Provide them with lots of extra examples (worked out because the students can't seem to copy them from the board) of problems like 7/10 + 3/5. Because I don't have the time or patience to teach the adults who interrupt me as I'm trying to do something with the rest of my class. It'd be a great present, really.

Any extra materials you have for teaching could be amazing too. I have the new computer waiting at home, but an LCD projector with wireless remote sounds powerful. Textbooks for Algebra, I'm not even sure I can dream that far. Posters for my room, because I'm not an interior decorator (and if they're the ones students do for extra credit, all the better).

Finally, lots of strength for my fellow teachers and myself. Physical. Mental. Emotional. Spiritual. Psychological. And any other aspect that I'm too tired to think of right now. Book deals for our stories when we come out of here (at least for those who have time to write). And some extra entertainment in the meantime.

Thanks!

~Me