Summers Off?

“I’m going to miss you” he says as the summer draws to a close. Somber feelings of guilt wash over me as I try to comprehend the weight of these words coming from a 4 year old’s mouth. You see, school starts soon for the both of us; he in his 2nd year of preschool and I am in my 4th year teaching. After today there will be a marked decline in the amount of time we get to spend together.

“But you get summers off” they say. “Ten weeks in a row!…”

“But you get summers off” they say. “Ten weeks in a row! That, plus school vacations in the winter and spring. Not including the time off you get during holiday break.” This is the biggest misconception, that teachers ‘get’ summers off. We do not.

This summer I will have spent 3 weeks in a professional development course. Traveling three bridges, paying $8 in tolls daily as I trek to Roger Williams University. A longer commute than during the school year. Honestly, this PD is one that I wish was longer due to the amount I have learned and grown both professionally and personally. Professionally I have become more aware of my role as a teacher. Personally I have learned to challenge my thinking. I will also have spent a good portion of my August getting my classroom prepared along with planning for the the class itself. Out of this ’10 weeks’ subtract about half.

“Okay, but during the school year you only work 6 hours a day. You work 9 months a year, 6 hours a day. That’s a pretty sweet gig!”

“Okay, but during the school year you only work 6 hours a day. You work 9 months a year, 6 hours a day. That’s a pretty sweet gig!”, they say. Here is the second most common inaccuracy, the 6 hour workday. Last year I averaged 3 additional hours of work per day (although it was usually greater) to prep for the day, collaborate with colleagues and communicate with parents. Additionally, I spent an extra 4 hours over the weekend grading student work and preparing for the week ahead. When added together, over the course of the school year adds an additional 684 hours or 17 forty hour work weeks to our 9 months of school. That is 7 weeks longer than our summers off!

“So why even become a teacher anyways?”, they say. I get the opportunity to impact students in a variety of ways — academically and socially. I get to see the school go through its daily transformations. From early morning quiet and shiny floors to spilled juice and the overwhelming noise of the lunchroom then back to the empty echoes of the hallways while greeting the evening custodian as I leave for the day. All the while reflecting “this lesson went well” or “man, that sucked. How can I redo that tomorrow?”

Most importantly, I get reinforcement from the students — like when Jonah says “Oh I get it, that’s why multiplication is repeated addition!”

Or when Rayyaan gave me a thank you note and says “Today was the best day ever” when all you asked him to do was help out.

Or the day the students got their published book and I was able to see the sense of accomplishment and pride they shared with one another.

Or, how about that time when the high schoolers came on a field trip and the students were sharing their published work and a spontaneous game of football arose.

These are a few of the moments that make the fallacy of ‘summers off’ and the ‘6 hour work day’ worthwhile. Moments like these that reinforce to me that teaching is more than English, Math, Reading, Science and Social Studies. Teaching is showing students that hard work is worthwhile. Giving students that ‘other’ person in their life that cares whether or not they ate breakfast or had lunch. These are the moments I remember, not what Student ID # 2468 achieved on their bi-weekly progress monitoring assessment.

What do I do in the summer? I get to stop. I get to sleep in and recharge. I have an opportunity to get new ideas and professionally challenge myself in a way that I want which will not only benefit me and my teaching, but my students as a result.

What I do get in the summer is the ability to have breakfast with my son. I do get to go the the park, go on bike rides, the museum, the library and spend a rainy day building the most ambitious Lego creations. I do get to have squirt gun fights and run in the sprinkler.

I do get an opportunity to make up for the times during the school year that I am attempting to be as dedicated to my students as possible.