Best. News. Ever.
It is officially summer break! The moment students and teachers anxiously await once the calendar flips to about eh... April.
We have arrived. The days of sunshine, long nights, and sleeping in. |Hah! Who am I kidding? My body keeps waking me up at 5:30 on the dot all summer long. Dang internal alarm clock.|
You have to be living under a rock to not know that there can be some animosity, jealousy even, towards teachers having summers off. Posts like this reveal the "Crazy Things People Say to Teachers"; things like this often rub teachers the wrong way - causing them to feel like they are consistently having to defend their career. Teacher defense of how they spend their summers can be seen in posts like this.
With most polarizing issues you tend to hear most from the people on opposing ends of the spectrum. Whether teachers "deserve" time off in the summer is no different.
Viewpoint #1: Teachers spend every single moment of summer vacation relaxing by the pool, doing absolutely nothing but being fed grapes by attractive pool boys and consistently rotating like a rotisserie chicken for the most even tan possible, while the rest of us fight through afternoon meetings and rush hour traffic. |I mean this is totally my reality... my teacher salary definitely affords me a pool boy! ;)|
Viewpoint #2: Teachers spend every single moment of summer vacation creating and building curriculum, doing absolutely nothing but filtering through the best lessons plans and consistently reading professional development books for the most career growth possible, while the rest of the world thinks I am undeserving of this so-called "break".
The problem with both of these options is that, well, neither of them are 100% true. Instead of landing on the two extremes, the truth of how teachers spend their summers usually lies somewhere in the middle. Something more like viewpoint #1.5, if you will.
That is what I hope to reveal to you with my new Summer Blog Series: what my summer, as a real-life teacher, honestly looks like. The productive and the playful. The professional and the procrastination. The pretty and the plain.
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| PC: www.polyvore.com |
Check in every week to see what viewpoint #1.5 looks like for me for the next 49 days! Mrs. Van Dyke's True Summer adVANtures!
*Insert disclaimer, fine print, cover my butt moment, here* The thoughts, opinions, and time spent in this summer series are solely mine. I realize all teachers spend their summers differently. I just hope to use my blog to show the truth of my personal life.
As I wrap up, I want to show you my "To Do" List for the summer. A little mix of productivity and playfulness that you will see as I post every week.
1. Blog, blog, blog.
2. Attend the 4 different education classes I have signed up for (I have to log 150 hours of summer work for one of the classes I am taking)
3. Get caught up on laundry... finally
4. Sort all of the filing cabinets from my class I brought home... I am a hoarder and they have gotten way too full
5. Clean this dang apartment
6. Attend the cooking and crafting classes that some of my teaching friends are hosting
7. Poooool... sans pool boy
8. Gym, gym, gym... again
9. Curriculum development for next year... we are revamping all of our lesson plans
10. Reading the books my students will be reading next year
11. Garage sale hunting for furniture for my classroom
12. Most likely refinishing said furniture
13. Reading professionally and personally
14. Memorize The Beatitudes... a challenge from my church's pastor
15. Attending a slew of weddings and bridal showers/bachelorette parties
16. Take this free calligraphy class offered by Scarlet & Gold
17. Rafting trip
18. Hike... possibly a 14er if I am feeling brave
19. Mexico! ... with pool boys!
20. Curriculum meetings and interviews at school for new hires
21. Working at the school library a few Wednesdays a month so kiddos can get their hands on books during their time off
22. Shop for new classroom materials ... hello, Target dollar section!
23. Drink coffee from a real mug... no travel mugs for a while!
It's a lofty list and only my weekly blog posts will prove how much of it I actually get done! Stay tuned!
Want to truly debunk the myth of what a teacher does over the summer? Subscribe via email (link to the right) so you never miss an authentic, honest Summer Blog Series Post!
And, while you wait for my first update |come on guys, it is only day 1 of summer, there isn't much to share|, read some of my favorite posts here, here, & here!
Labels: Family, Fashion, Friendship, Middle School, Productive and Playful, Recipes, Summer Blog Series, Summer Vacation, Teacher
