Editor's Note

Giovanna Bechard, Editor

My sister is a teacher.

Anna Lisa Aurora, Hamden High School History Teacher

My sister, Anna Lisa, is a history teacher at a high school in Connecticut. While I’ve never been a teacher, I’ve heard stories for years about what happens in her high school. If I'm honest, some of them are absolutely horrifying. They’re the same ones I’m sure you were all aware of and live through each day. But, just a few weeks ago she said something that really stuck with me, and really was a true picture of the changing face of education.

We were driving on a long car ride and she was telling me a story about how her students were always on their cell phones even though she gave them warnings and

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/maineea took them away and wrote them up and sent them to the principal's office… nothing ever really seems to work with this particular class of students. Then, she told me about a recent day with her 9th graders:

"I taught the kids about the Berlin Wall and they were like, so? They said 1989?! That’s so long ago, because Snapchat was 30 seconds ago. If it’s not instant, this generation doesn’t care about it. There is nothing more interesting to them than the last Snapchat.”

And so is her reality teaching high schoolers. As they say… the struggle is real. How you, as educators, decide to connect with your students, even the smaller ones, who grew up with technology, is up to you. As always, this magazine provides some innovative technology tips through our Tech Talk page. This is a regular part of the magazine you can find in every issue, and in back issues available online on our website maineea.org.

As the year winds down, remember we here at MEA always have your back. If you find yourself looking for summer deals, make sure to make your membership work for you and take advantage of the deals and discounts (including ones to theme parks and big time shows) at neamb.com and ticketsatwork.com. Check out some sample discounts on page 31.

Finally, thank you. Thank you for your hard work this school year. Thank you for driving students safely to school. Thank you for feeding them healthy meals. Thank you for tying their shoes, and teaching them to be people. Thank you for all you do. And, perhaps take the advice of my sister and make sure to smile despite the circumstances—even if you're not using a Snapchat filter.

Giovanna Bechard Editor editor@maineea.org