The Sweetest Deal of All

Dear First-Year Teacher,

You may not get much respect in the state where you live, but if you’re a teacher in Georgia, you just might. Let me explain.

I was driving to Las Vegas for a brief vacation a few days ago when I found myself behind a car bearing a license plate from Georgia. From where I was on the freeway, I could see that the license plate had some sort of fruit on it. A peach? Probably, since Georgia is known as the Peach State.

But traffic patterns changed, the Georgia car slowed down and I overtook it. That’s when I discovered to my delight that the fruit was not a peach, but an apple. Surrounding the apple were the words “Educators Make a Difference.” Imagine that—a state that makes a license plate especially for teachers!

If you happen to want one, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to own one. You have to fork over $25 to have the plate manufactured and you have to pay the annual registration fee of $20, but you don’t have to pay an annual special tag fee. After your initial investment of $45, you’re going to pay only $20 per year to show the world that you’re a teacher. Isn’t that a sweet deal?

Of course, the sweetest deal for a teacher, respect or no respect, is the privilege of working with children—and you don’t need a license plate on your car to know just how sweet it is.

Yours for the sweetest deal of all,
Magical Mystical Teacher