What Summer Means for Teachers

Aaaahhh, Willamette Valley summer. That glorious time in our little slice of Oregon when the sun is out, the weather is pretty consistently nice, and we all turn red like lobsters trying to work on our "tans" because for the other 9-ish months, we are inside wearing sweaters or outside wearing a rain jacket. Because in Eugene, from about mid-September through June, you just never know when it's going to rain, but there is usually a pretty good chance that it will. Which is what makes our valley so green and beautiful (and allergy-ridden for several weeks, but that's another topic for another day). And why we all love spending time outdoors.

Summer for teachers has another, deeper meaning than just nice weather. It is a time to collect ourselves and gear up for another year. There is an image that I particularly like and identify with as a teacher, because it seems that no matter how much we master, no matter how organized we are, or at what stage we are in our career, this is how our year goes:


It's a funny image, but the thing is, it's true, and we all know that's how it's going to be. And we're OK with that. For approximately 6-8 hours per day, we are 100% focused upon doing right by 30+ kids who are not our own. We care for them, we laugh with them, we hurt with them, we try to motivate them, and we try to make each of them feel special, try to get to know them all. Oh, and on top of all that, we have some information and skills that they must learn after finishing their 9-ish months with us. We chose this path. Not only that, we choose to come back to it year after year.

Every year, someone or some entity, be it government or district or society or school team, comes up with another expectation to place upon students. Another goal for them to meet by the end of the year. Which means there are constantly more demands placed upon teachers. After all, kids can't teach themselves, and they need someone to guide them through the learning process, keep them focused, and support them as they learn and grow. And with all those demands, less and less time is left for play and exploration, regardless of how creative we become as teachers. Can learning be fun? Absolutely. But when you get down to the nitty-gritty, school is not just the teacher's job, but the kid's job as well. It's hard work for teacher and student, and the students are not just little sponges in a classroom, absorbing what comes out of their teachers' mouths. They have responsibility to the work too. And that wears upon their little brains and bodies, as it does on ours. So kids need a break.

But teachers need summers just as much as kids do. Teachers and students both need time to recharge, play, have Free Time - like, Real Free Time, with capital letters, which means there's not a 15 minute time limit with 3 choices of educationally themed activities, during which we still can't shake that guilty feeling that even though the both we and our students need it, there is some specific lesson we could be spending more time on instead. Free Time, to go swimming and eat junk food, visit friends, stay up late, take a nap whenever you want, break from the schedule, and truly relax. Kids need to do that, and so do teachers. We need time to remember why we show up in September with our own new school clothes and haircuts, and beautifully organized and planned curriculum, armed with new strategies for behavior management or reading interventions.

Free Time is necessary for teachers, because guess what we end up doing? Working. Yeah, I said it. Teacher friends, don't even try to deny it, because you know it's true. I am the first to embrace summer for all its glory: camping, lounging, recreating in all forms, spending time with family and friends. But what only a few people close to me know about me is this: more often than not, you will find me, on most days in the summer, devoting some amount of time to the following school year. And I know the same is true for most of my colleagues.

For example, this June, a team from school and I decided to spend the first 2 days after school was officially closed wrapping up some work we had started earlier in the year. School had literally just gotten out, and we were back together, planning and discussing and organizing. I was signed up for a training later that week, which I only ended up not attending because of a family emergency. But several of my colleagues did attend that training. I have gone into the school a few times this summer to pick up this curriculum book, or check that lesson plan that I had left, and every time, there has been at least one other teacher there, doing something similar. "Oh, I'm just popping in for _____, I'll be leaving in a minute or two," is the standard interaction. Half an hour later, we're both still there, caught up in some little thing that we'd rather just get done while we see it than to wait until the first week back. We always laugh, because we know that's just how it is.

We all have our ways of setting our limits. I, for example, do not enter the school building at all during the month of July. There are times in June after the year has wrapped up that I have left something at school and need to go back, or I'll think of something I need to check on. August is when I start thinking about the new year, so I'll go in just to jog my memory as to how I left the classroom the year before, and if I need to order anything, I make a note of it early August so that I start the year off with all my supplies. I often spend the second half of June recalling what could have been improved the previous year and jotting it down in a Google Doc so I remember it again when I return to planning. In August I do return to planning, spending several hours daily creating new documents, revising old ones, writing lesson plans, and getting as much ready at home as I can before I really have to go in to the building itself and do some physical work. But in July, I make myself stay home. I won't say I don't do a little bit of work in July, especially if you can count Pinning ideas on Pinterest as work...

My July rule has a purpose. The purpose of my July rule is to remind me that I have to do some self-care and create some balance. Yes, teaching is a passion of mine and it makes sense for me to devote lots of time to it, since it's also my livelihood and my career. I am rewarded for my planning often, and believe that the work I do over the summers improves my teaching. However, I also have family and friends, I love to run and be outdoors, and I like doing art projects. While I manage, for the most part, to stay connected to people in my life during the school year, the time I spend with them in the summers is precious to me. It is not just Facebook statuses or half-conversations or time that gets scheduled around my need to go home to finish working before the weekend is over. I have more time to slow down in the summer. I do things on my own time. I rest. The stress and the demands of the school year melt away, and eventually I start to hear that soft, familiar voice in my head. The one that says, "Hey, maybe today we look at our plans for the school year."

So I do, but wait until August. Slowly at first, and some days I only look for a few minutes, while others I spend hours poring over books and plans and ideas without realizing just how much time has elapsed. But there is something liberating about being able to do that on my own time. In August, I have 4 hours to work with the new teacher at our school in the middle of the day, 2 hours to allow my mind to wander as I look at creative new ideas for organizing my lessons or creating a seating chart, 5 minutes to read a teaching blog. In August, I can let my computer sit all day long without picking it up once with no regrets. I have the leisure to work as much or as little as I want, when I want to. I have time to be creative and thoughtful, without the pressure of finishing priority work that is vital to my survival the next day with students. August is concept time, and I love it. Some of my best ideas come to me in August.

Of course, there has never been a time where I get everything done before, or even during the school year, that I dream up in August. Some things are immediately eliminated as I realize they are just unrealistic in practice. Other things evolve and become more developed as the year progresses. Still others are forgotten until it's too late. Better luck next year.

One thing, however, is certain: No matter how beat down, discouraged, exhausted, frustrated, or jaded I become by June, something magical happens in those summer months, during which I both play and work. I once again become excited and ready for the next group of students. I think about all the hope we have for the coming year. I look forward to bonding with a new group and caring for each of them.

I know this happens for other teachers too, because we come back to work with smiles on our faces and a spring in our step. I hear music floating out from other classroom doorways in the hall, as my colleagues and I diligently work to set up our classrooms and organize our materials. We hug, we smile, and we bring one another treats in that first week back. And on the first day of school, we do show up in our pretty clothes and nice hair, and beautifully packed lunches, just like the kids. Because on some level, we're just as excited and nervous as they are.

I know several teachers who don't make New Year's Resolutions in January. It's all about September for us. That magical time when we have had just enough of a break to forget the weight of all the problems in the education system and all the stresses that make teaching more difficult than perhaps it needs to be. September is when we remember and look forward to what is most important: the day-to-day workings of our classrooms and students, and the hope we all harbor for a successful year.

That is what summer means for teachers. A time to relax, recharge, and the time to work on improving our craft for the sake of our students. For in caring for ourselves, we ultimately do what is best for our students, which is to ensure that we are ready for them as we embark upon a school year together. Isn't that also doing important work? A healthy, happy teacher is proven to be a more effective one, and if we don't take time to care for ourselves, how can we care for the students in our charge?

I always tell people, "Anyone who says teachers only work 9 months out of the year is seriously mistaken," because for teachers, the only thing that changes is the type of work we do and when we do it. Balance is important, and just because we're not physically in the classroom having student contact all day doesn't mean that we're doing nothing. We're never idle. Teaching is a career, but more than that, it's a calling. We do it because we love it, and because we believe we can make a difference in children's lives. How many people get to say that about their jobs? Teaching is so much more than a "job." And we wouldn't have it any other way.

So here's to summer, as another one begins to wrap up for teachers in Oregon. May we squeeze the last bits of relaxation out of this one, and begin the new year with a renewed hope and energy. Happy summer, and good luck, fellow teachers, as we all gear up for September and all it brings.