Why Teachers Need a Summer Break
Especially this year.
I was in a big box department store yesterday for the purpose of finding a couple of cushions for some outdoor furniture. I headed straight to the section of the store where one might find such a thing and found nothing but bare shelves. The entire area was stripped clean of patio furnishings, citronella oils, pool floaties, and garden décor.
Gone. All gone.
As I stared blankly at the empty shelves, an employee with an armload of backpacks walks by, sets them down, and begins stocking the shelves with school supplies.
Wait, what?
We have not even enjoyed the summer solstice yet, and now you’re putting out colored pencils, backpacks, and dry erase markers?
Can we just slow down, please?
Let me enjoy the summer!
Now, the good news here, for me anyway, is that I do not have to buy school supplies anymore: I am now a retired teacher as of three weeks ago. It used to fill me with dread to see the school supplies coming out in the stores because it was a reminder that my summer had an expiration date.
This is something you know on a cerebral level, of course, but most teachers I know need at least a couple of weeks to decompress from the school year before…
