More than 200 cartoons from syndicated cartoonist John McPherson show our appreciation for, and sometimes our impatience with, one of the most important bedrocks of our nation’s future: our teachers. From elementary school to college, and from piano teachers to sports coaches, this book makes a hilarious and heartwarming gift for our favorite mentors.

Introduction

Your days are spent dodging spitballs, fielding homework excuses and battling the class clown for attention. Evenings find you grading homework and getting the sound of ringing bells out of your head. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

Chances are, you wanted to be a teacher from a very young age. Chances are, another teacher, just like you, ignited that spark in you to become an educator. He or she made it a joy to learn, and encouraged your talents and skills. So the tradition continues, the torch is passed, and it is your turn now. It is up to you to inspire, entertain and enlighten a whole new generation of children. Our hats are off to you. You are heroes to your students.

Within this collection of cartoons, we hope that you will also see yourself as you really are: an entertainer, a cheerleader, a comedian, a guardian and a counselor. May these cartoons make you remember what made you want to be a teacher in the first place. Most importantly, may these cartoons provide you with much-needed comic relief after a long day in the classroom.

And if you're a student, we hope this book gives you a new perspective on those sometimes wonderful, sometimes horrible thirty hours a week you spend in class. Teachers aren't all out to get you— even the ones that, as you'll learn in this book, really do have extrasensory powers, the latest in child-zapping devices and a serious ax to grind!

So step away from that chalkboard, teachers around the world. Separate yourself from your red pen, put your feet up on your desk and give yourself a time out. You deserve it more than anyone.

©2008. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cartoons for Teachers by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, John McPherson. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street , Deerfield Beach , FL 33442.