Retired Cordova teacher pens ‘survival guide’

Retired teacher Cynthia Sanders-Mack has put together “A Survival Guide for New Teachers.”

The Cordova educator hopes it helps new teachers coming into the profession.

“It really promotes the profession and being a public servant and realizing the power you have in the classroom to impact 6+ children. That’s the message that is driven in to every chapter,” Sanders-Mack said.

Sanders-Mack retired from teaching completely in 2021 after initially retiring in 2011.

She felt the urge to write the book to assist a profession that is hurting.

“Today there are a lot of teachers leaving the profession, so I was like ‘You know what? I’m going to write a book, a guide for teachers to help them understand the different issues they have to face, and to have a more successful career as an educator,’” Sanders-Mack said.

One of her favorite parts about the book was her chapter on controlling the classroom.

“That’s one of the key reasons why you have a lot of people leaving the profession,” she said. Sanders-Mack seeks to offer “guidance on how to deal with these children, because they’re different today compared to years ago.”

Her biggest issue was prioritizing her time to write the book. She was balancing that with her own personal business. She owns a boutique named Divas Only.

“At this point in my life, I want to be stepping forward, own a business and I love writing. It’s been a passion of mine for a while, so I decided to do this is on something that keeps me close to my profession,” Sanders-Mack said.

Writing gave Sanders-Mack s chance to take trips down memory lane and go back to previous moments she enjoyed during her career while putting her book together

“It was fun because it brought back memories when I first started out, and you learn a lot in all your years. You want to share those nuggets to help those who are starting out,” Sanders-Mack said.

So far, she has received good feedback from teachers.

“I’ve got some good reviews on the book because it is something that really helped them as they get through. It is a very difficult time teaching today compared to when I started in 1978. That’s what inspired me – I love children, I love teaching and I love working with teachers,” Sanders-Mack said.

To order a copy of the book, call 1-800-788-7654 or visit the publisher’s website at bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com and look for the title of the book in the search bar.