12 THINGS TEACHERS REALLY DO DURING THE SUMMER


I am only one teacher. What do I know about what every other teacher does during the summer? I don’t. But, I do know what my colleagues and I do and it’s definitely not as elaborate as many think. Here is a list of the 12 real things that teachers do during summer vacation.
  1. Teachers have major surgeries and other non-emergency procedures that they postpone during the school year so that they don’t miss too many days of instruction.
  2. Teachers work summer school because they are 10-month employees and don’t get paid during the summer months. If they do receive pay, it is because their 10-month salary is divided into 12 months making their biweekly checks even smaller.
  3. Teachers work at summer camps to supplement their salary. (Oh yeah, and they tutor during the school year too.)
  4. Teachers officially become full-time chauffeurs for all the activities that they’ve signed their children up for so that they are not cooped up in the house for two months.
  5. And they are home instructors to their children so that their brains don’t turn to mush before returning to school.
  6. Teachers attend local festivals and carnivals because they are a much cheaper way to experience different cultures. Really, who can afford a trip every year on a teacher’s salary?
  7. Teachers sleep. A LOT. They take advantage of not needing to set the alarm clock.
  8. Teachers read a book for leisure, hopefully. With the rapidly changing curricula, there are always new materials to review.
  9. With that said, teachers prepare for the next school year. At home. At workshops. At meetings. Keep in mind that they are 10-month employees. Some even travel for professional development during the summer months, so I guess that could be considered taking a vacation.
  10.  Teachers take graduate school courses in hopes of becoming an administrator or guidance counselor or one of those people who has one of those mysterious high paying jobs down at the board of education.
  11. Teachers experience anxiety about the next school year. What am I teaching? Where am I teaching? How will the students be? Will they like me? Who will the new principal be? What new assessments will I have to administer? Will my classroom be ready? Will my classes be overcrowded? Will I have enough desks? Will I have an aide or inclusion teacher for my special needs students? Will the technology in my classroom work? Will I have enough textbooks? . . .
  12.  Finally, teachers spend a small portion of their summer justifying why they deserve two whole months away from the classroom to every other profession. 

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