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Neither snow nor rain nor heat will stop U.S. Postal Service couriers from delivering our mail… but the new coronavirus just might. Source: https://brnpop.co/2WNXWQk | brainpop.com

Business mail, plus sales of stamps and other postal products, are crashing, and it’s getting worse. But so far, the government has not stepped in with aid. And these days, people are relying on the mail more than ever to get vital medications, benefits checks, and household goods. With help from USPS spokesperson XH, you can explain to your students the universal service obligation, the Postal Service’s relationship to the government, and what they can do to help save the USPS. Hint: Send letters and thank your letter carriers! Press "play" for a special delivery of important information!

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For more background into the concepts discussed during this episode, visit these related topics from BrainPOP:

U.S. Constitution: https://brnpop.co/2ZytfAD
Branches of Government: https://brnpop.co/36sa8cV
Census: https://brnpop.co/3e7isRY
Coronavirus: https://brnpop.co/3e4qjPW

Each of these topics are accompanied by creative and instructional tools that develop higher-order thinking skills in kids K–12.

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Full transcript with action descriptions: https://brnpop.co/3bIaq08

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Partial transcript:

TIM: Welcome to Homeroom News. Tonight’s top story: The United States Postal Service. Neither snow nor rain nor heat will stop USPS couriers from delivering our mail… But the new coronavirus just might.

Businesses are the Postal Service’s biggest customers, and a lot of them are closed due to the pandemic. Sales of stamps and other postal products are crashing. Overall mail volume is expected to drop 50 percent by June. The USPS expects to run out of cash as early as autumn, forcing it to shut down!

Close to a trillion dollars of government aid has gone to support businesses… But so far that money has not included the USPS and its 600,000 employees. This comes at a time when some people are relying on the mail more than ever: To get vital medications, benefits checks, and household goods. Even to vote, since so many elections are converting to mail-in ballot only.

Here to discuss these matters is USPS spokesperson XH.

XAVIER HERNANDEZ: Hi, Tim! Thanks for having me!

TIM: So, Mr. Hernandez, tell us why the Postal Service is so important.

TIM: Can’t we just use private mail companies, like some other countries do?

XH: Yeah, so the Postal Service is important because it binds the nation together through the use of postal products and services. We have something called the universal service obligation. That means at affordable rates, we connect every American address from Puerto Rico to Alaska, and from Vermont, all the way to Hawaii.

We’re not interested in, in maximizing profits, as a private business might be interested in doing. We are tasked with operating like a private business, but with all of the regulation of a federal government agency.

TIM: Huh! So, how far back in our nation’s history does the Postal Service go?

XH: The Post Office is actually older than the United States itself. We were formed one year before the Constitution was signed and ratified. We’re actually listed in the founding document of this country as critical to bind the nation together.

TIM: Fact check: I see it’s right here in Article I, Section 8, Clause 7: Congress is empowered "to establish Post Offices and Post Roads." Does that mean the USPS is paid for through taxes?

XH: We operate on postal products and services—that’s mostly stamps, not taxpayer dollars. It sounds to me like kids can play a part in helping to save the Postal Service! That’s right, our youngest customers can buy stamps and they can mail letters. You can take a stamp, put it on an item from wherever you are, and send it as far as Hawaii. So, for 55 cents, you can send a piece of mail across the world. And that’s pretty special. I don’t know what else you can get for 55 cents around the country.

TIM: Uh, a couple of gumballs… the "Raise the Roof" emote in Fortnite… maybe a very small taco… Oh, sorry… uh, any closing thoughts?

XH: Support the Postal Service as much as you can. And also, take the time if you see your letter carrier and say hi to them and tell them that you appreciate what they’re doing. Cuz I don’t know if you’ve ever walked eight miles a day, every day that you went to work, but it’s a lot.

TIM: Well, there you go, folks, you heard it straight from the source: Get yourself a pen pal, pony up 55 cents for a stamp, and while you’re at it, thank your letter carrier!

#BrainPOP #BrainPOPNews #USPS

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