We
all know teaching is not for the faint of heart but we've all heard people
gripe and complain about how teachers get the summer off. All of a sudden,
teaching becomes a pie job! Teachers need to have summers because they have one of the
most important jobs! Taking care of our kids. Teaching them about life and their
future careers. Not to mention, sleep! Do you know the typical working hours of
a teacher? I don't think there are any because teachers are always working. If
you're a teacher, I'm sure that you've seen the sun come up and the sun go down
on many occasions. Teachers are sitting at their desks grading papers, giving
extra help for tests or projects, reviewing college essays, attending staff
meetings or parent teacher conferences. You can't do those things while kids
are in the classroom so, the only time life is before school begins or after it
ends for the day. That's a lot of hours that we're at home sleeping and
relaxing after a tiring day that wasn't spent in the classroom. Teachers also
need the Summer to have some time to themselves! If you have kids or have ever
been around kids, you see that they are pretty needy people right? They don't
want to be left alone so they probably figure that you don't either. Personal
space or personal time? What's that?
To
one kid that could be all the time, imagine that times ten or twenty. There's
no time to yourself when fifteen fifth graders are involved. They also need
days to spend time with their own family and friends. By the time teachers go
in before the sun rises and they may not get home until the sun sets they
probably don't get to spend a lot of time with their own kids, spouses,
parents, siblings or even friends for that matter. Summer vacation opens up the
schedule to read the bed time stories, head over to mom's for a few days or
even just have a nice dinner with their partner. Teachers also need time to set
the books down and decompress for a few weeks. Step away from the red pen and
lesson plans and think of something else.
However,
after a few weeks away it's good for them to have fresh eyes looking at their
lesson plans and making adjustments when thinking back to how things may not
have gone to plan last year. Pulling the text books out and having time to make
improvements will create a better experience in the year to come for both the
teacher and the students. Summer vacation is also a time that a lot of teachers
find secondary income. It's a well known fact and belief that teachers are not
paid what they should be paid even though they carry degrees and some even
Master's yet, they are in the most underpaid position in America. So, when a
teacher cannot find the time during their ten hour work day during the
school year to work another job, the only time that's left is the Summer!
Teachers
also take their Summer vacation as a time to improve their specialty. They will
often sign up for classes, courses or conferences to gain more knowledge to
further their education which in turns furthers the education of their
students. In all honesty, the list could go on for days of the benefits of
Summer vacation and why teachers deserve to have time off along with their
students but these few reasons speak for themselves. Teachers deserve time to
recharge, spend time with family, better their lesson plans and better their
own education. Summer vacation may be filled with a day or two at the beach but
it's also filled with self care and teachers deserve all the care that they can
get!
Have
a great summer!!
