June 13, 2024
Every summer it seems I read things about teachers getting “summers off”. I thought I would weigh in with my experience. I just finished my 26th year of teaching and I believe the only way I have been able to continue for so long is because I have time to recharge from the previous school year and prepare for the next.
I, like most teachers I know, spend summer in several ways:
1. mentally decompressing from the stress and load of the school year,
2. attending training and professional development,
3. taking classes for our own educational advancement,
4. getting caught up on all the appointments we couldn’t make during the school year,
5. making memories with our own families,
6. planning curriculum for the next year,
7. completing home projects that we never have time to do,
8. rearranging and decorating our classrooms,
9. binging shows the rest of the world has been talking about for the last nine months,
10. reconnecting with friends and family we seemingly ignored (sorry for that),
11. doing something creative that is just for us and our own mental health,
12. and generally just trying to feel human again.
I taught high school for 14 years in a “traditional” setting at the college prep and senior levels. That meant tons of analysis and essays. I had to spend summers reading the materials I would be teaching during the school year. During the school year, I had to lesson plan and material prep before every class and then grade and assess after each day. My paid teaching day was six periods of live instruction and a 50-minute prep hour. Which meant planning and assessing happened mostly on my own time.
Let’s do some math. Six classes times 25-30 students each equals 150-180 students. Every time I needed to assess a writing assignment, I had to grade 150-180 essays. If I spent only five minutes reading each essay and making comments, that’s 12.5-15 hours of grading. That’s if I only looked at each essay for FIVE MINUTES!!! Senior research essays were 7-10 pages long!! It took 30-45 minutes to grade each one.
When my late husband was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, I had to make a tough decision about my teaching career. I knew I couldn’t give my full attention and the needed time a traditional teaching position required. I was so fortunate that at the end of the school year, a position opened up at our district’s alternative high school. I was able to still teach while raising my children and being a caregiver to my husband. I no longer had to spend my Sunday nights lesson planning and my weeknights grading. I could teach and then go home and be the wife and mother my family needed. Most teachers don’t have that luxury.
So, here I am after year 26. I am spending the day painting a bookshelf I bought (with my own money) for my classroom. My new husband is also a teacher. The other day we both discussed how we want to rearrange our classrooms for the next year and we plan to help each other get them set up before school starts. None of this is during our paid contract time. We do this because we like what we do and want to do it well.
Should teachers have summers “off”? That depends. Do we want our children in classrooms with highly educated, motivated, engaging, well-prepared teachers? Or do we want lethargic, boring, burned-out teachers who use worksheets and canned lesson plans to keep our students “busy” so parents can have a place to drop off their children? The goal of the school is to educate our youth and guide them into a future that is beneficial to society as a whole. To do that, teachers and students need to have time to mentally, physically, and emotionally decompress and recharge. Do we have a lack of quality, affordable, safe childcare available to parents during school breaks? Emphatically, yes!!! Is that the school’s issue? I unequivocally say, no.
When I was in college, I worked summer at a kids club sponsored through the Kyrene School District. Most of the leaders were college students like me and some were certified teachers who needed extra income during the summer. It was a drop-off program for grades K-8. It wasn’t daycare; we did activities and enrichment with the kids. It was paid for by parents, but I assume supplemented by the district and possibly grants. This model would be an excellent solution for working parents.
Teachers are not babysitters–most of us have master’s degrees and are tenured–we deserve time to rest, renew, and prepare for our next teaching cycle.
Research links:
https://www.physiciansregional.com/news-room/surprising-health-benefits-of-summer-vacations-19298
https://www.physiciansregional.com/news-room/surprising-health-benefits-of-summer-vacations-19298
https://www.expatinsurance.eu/en/5-healthy-reasons-why-you-should-take-summer-break
The Sunday Girl 