A few weeks ago I was visiting a craft store and whipped out my teacher ID so I could get my meager discount. After the cashier asked me about my contents and explaining they were indeed NOT for classroom, he posed a very interesting question: “What do teachers do all summer?” In case you, your kids, or the person working the register at Hobby Lobby are wondering, here’s what we do.
Catching up
It’s finally time to do everything we’ve been putting off during the school year. That includes doctor / dentist appointments, trips to the DMV and in my case, finally unpacking the last boxes from our move six months ago. Yes, as teachers we get holidays but most of these places are closed during our time off. Not to mention sub plans are an absolute pain, and we miss our students. A day is forever! Weekends fly by and mine personally are jam packed with activities for my children. This is also a time to catch up with decluttering, organizing, and arranging all the stuff we’ve gathered and dragged home from our classrooms
Teaching and Working
As you know, teaching is one of the highest paying careers you can have in this country. (This is obviously a joke.) In addition to notoriously low salaries, some teachers don’t even get paid through the summer at all, which means carefully budgeting throughout the school year, offering tutoring, or teaching summer school. The summer school positions are pretty coveted, so they go quickly. There are also teachers out there that just get a regular part time job over the summer.
Prepping for Next Year
Believe it or not, planning for the next year begins in the previous year. We reflect and think about all the things we would change for next year, and summer is the time to plan for those changes. That consists of attending trainings, meetings, seminars, conferences, and even group chats with your grade level. Not to mention that LOTS of us are continuing our own education or getting “add on” certifications. We shop for our classrooms of course (with our own money) and convince ourselves that this is going to be the best year ever.
As teachers, we definitely earn our time off. Summer gives us time to recharge our batteries before the chaos of the new school year starts. Hopefully we can also squeeze in a little vacation, whether that’s headed toward the beach or just enjoying the quiet with a good book. We deserve it!
