7.      Your Political Affiliations – We have come to a point in our history where the divide between “conservative” Americans and “liberal” Americans is wider than it has ever been.  Back in the Good Ol’ Days, people with differing views could at least get along with each other.  Today, the hostility is such that I would seriously consider splitting the United States into two parts (if I were President)…it’s getting that bad.  Just so you know, I don’t like it…but that’s just the way it is.  As a result, it is more important than ever before that you keep your political views to yourself.  Once it gets out that you are a huge Sarah Palin supporter or you wear a “Yes We Can” button on your lapel because you think that Barack Obama is the best President ever…you just alienated half of your students’ parents.  From that day forward, parents who don’t agree with you will think of you first as “that liberal teacher” or “that conservative teacher”.  Parents who don’t agree with your politics will undermine your authority by instructing their child not to be “brainwashed” by you.