I’ve been seeing this article shared widely recently, as I also engage on Twitter with many of the educators included in it.
Like these teachers, I’m not taking two full months of vacation.
- I’m the coordinator for our Board’s summer learning programs, and I’ve been doing a lot of camp work since school ended.
- As I shared in a recent blog post, I also plan on reading and reflecting on the new Language Curriculum Document, and hope to join in on the Twitter conversation that’s already started.
- I always read some professional books over the summer to further improve my practice, and I plan on selecting some to read this summer. If you have any suggestions, please share them. I want to read more about the Science of Reading, but also, about writing instruction.
All of this being said, I’ve been contemplating the common complaint that teachers “get two months off.” While I think it’s wonderful that we share our learning, classroom preparation, and professional experiences over those two months, what if we did take the two months off? In education, we talk a lot about mental health and well-being. Sometimes taking a step away from the classroom, and truly taking the opportunity to recharge, to spend time with family and friends, and to find some quiet time alone, are all great things. Maybe this is what some, many, or even all of us need in order to bring our best selves back to the classroom in September!
While I will likely tweet or share on Instagram about my professional learning, you’ll also see me post about my many non-educational reads this summer. I think this has value as well. An educational leader who I truly admire, told me many years ago, the importance of learning how to both “work hard” and “vacation hard.” Breaks are not bad things. They often give us the patience, the reflection time, and the stamina to do better when school starts again. Please educators, administrators, and educational leaders, share all of your amazing learning in the next couple of months, but also, share your time to unwind. You deserve it. We all do. Teachers may get “two months off,” and maybe that is a perk of the position, but I don’t know one educator who stays in education for that reason alone. Do you?
Aviva
Aviva,
It’s an interesting idea to just fully take the two months “off”. What I like about the professional learning I engage in over the summer is that it’s fully self-directed- I choose the books, the timeline, the conversations, etc. It’s learning that I want to do that is not mandated to me. (I’m not saying that all mandated PD is bad, it can be useful, but it’s rarely an educator’s choice in topic or timing). I also feel like I can soak in my learning better when it’s the summer and I’m not racing in a million directions. Summer learning makes the school year a little easier too- it’s so hard to learn and implement something at the same time (which brings us to the completely unprofessional and ridiculous time of the the Ministry’s release of the language curriculum… but that’s a whole different post. 😉)
Thanks for your comment, Beth! I agree with you about this self-directed PD, and like you, I want the opportunity to explore and reflect on these resources (like the new Language Document) before I need to use them. While I’m not sure that I could ever take the full two months off, I wonder sometimes if educators feel the need to justify how they’re using their vacation time. Should they need to? If taking this time to unwind, relax, and do things not associated with school will make you a better teacher or administrator come September, I’m all for it. Taking a break is not a bad thing. As for the release date of the new Language Document, would there be a perfect time for it to come out? This is so often a struggle … right?!
Aviva
I agree that we often feel the need to justify our time off. I saw a thread the other day about educators whose partners are non-educators and often the self-inflicted pressure they feel to be productive while their partner works. We can be our own worst enemies.
We really can be, Beth! I think we need to start being gentler with ourselves and giving ourselves permission to take as much of this break as we need. Maybe we also need to be aware that these needs might vary educator to educator, and that’s okay too.
Aviva
Hi Aviva,
This blog really resonates with me. Last summer I spent hours and hours learning about the Science of Reading through books, webinars, etc. I prepped a ton of new materials that I felt I would need to update my literacy instruction to match Science of Reading. Then came September. I’ve been teaching since 1998. This past school year was absolutely the toughest that I have ever had with regards to aggressive behaviour and high student needs. I have never felt so completely overwhelmed and ready to go on a leave. I am mentally and physically exhausted still. I will be taking my full two months to test and recharge for the first time in my teaching career – that includes summers when my own three children were young. I am doing so without any guilt. The general public seriously needs to witness what teachers are dealing with on a daily basis and see how it is affecting our own mental and emotional health. Then, and only then, will they understand.
Thanks for your comment, Helen! I’m sorry to hear that it was such a difficult year for you, and I’m glad that you’re giving yourself the break this summer that you need. Maybe some years you’ll need these full two months and others you won’t, but I hope more people can feel less guilty about taking as much time as they need. In the end, the more re-charged that we are, the more that we can give of ourselves to students and learning come September! I hope that this next school year is better for you!
Aviva
Hi Aviva, (edit to previous)
This blog really resonates with me. Last summer I spent hours and hours learning about the Science of Reading through books, webinars, etc. I prepped a ton of new materials that I felt I would need to update my literacy instruction to match Science of Reading. Then came September. I’ve been teaching since 1998. This past school year was absolutely the toughest that I have ever had with regards to aggressive behaviour and high student needs. I have never felt so completely overwhelmed and ready to go on a leave. I am mentally and physically exhausted still. I will be taking my full two months to rest and recharge for the first time in my teaching career – that includes summers when my own three children were young. I am doing so without any guilt. The general public seriously needs to witness what teachers are dealing with on a daily basis and see how it is affecting our own mental and emotional health. Then, and only then, will they understand.
Thanks Helen! Please see my reply to your last comment. I really hope that these two months off make a difference for you and that this upcoming school year is far less stressful!
Aviva
I have an interesting take on all of this. This is my first summer where I will be working in a paid position, at least part-time, all summer, since I started my teaching career 30 years ago. I retired from classroom teaching in April, and have taken on a position as a technology/pedagogy demonstrator at a school of education.
Guess what? I love it. I love the structure to my days, the self-directed learning involved in my job, getting financially remunerated for the kind of learning/research/reading that I used to do on my summers “off”. I leave work around 4:00 each day, and I leave work. My weekends are mine. It is such a gift that I am actually not missing my time off. I am missing the ability to go canoe camping for a week at a time, because I don’t have any vacation time accrued this year, but that will come.
I think part of this whole discussion is how all-encompassing teaching is as a profession, and how all-consuming it can be when you, as most of us do, want to do it well.
I would have loved the opportunity to teach in the European year-round model. I think it’s far more human, and doesn’t encourage teachers to try and pack their entire “self-care” regimen into a month or two.
We have a lot of work to do around normalizing taking time “off”. I’m so glad that Janet Hurley wrote the piece she did. I think it’s a step towards more of an understanding of what teachers do.
Thanks for your comment, Lisa! I really appreciate hearing your perspective. The idea of full-year schooling intrigues me. Would more regular breaks throughout the school year decrease stress for educators? Would we tend to use these breaks more for “time off?” I wonder … Thanks for getting me thinking more!
Aviva