People say that teachers are so lucky to get three months off in the summer. I recently counted the weeks we have no contract obligations, and we only get ten weeks off. (Remember, we are "compensated"accordingly!) Therefore, this weekend marked our halfway point for summer.
When examining whether I was excited or not about being at mid-summer, I debated about that being a "glass half empty" or a "glass half full" concept.
Glass Half Empty: School will be here in a short five weeks. I will have to get up at 5 am again to squeeze in my exercise routine. I will have the chaos of getting three boys ready in about 20 minutes every morning and racing us out the door to our busy days. I won't be able to read as much. I will have papers to grade. Yada, Yada, Yada. . .
On most days, I'm not really a Glass Half Empty Girl. I like to be an optimist.
Glass Half Full: I have five weeks left of sleeping in a little extra to 6 am. I still have five weeks to complete my summer reading wish list. (I am reading an awesome book right now! Stay tuned!) The boys and I leisurely get ready every morning to usually be on the way to the first activity by 9 am. We still have our summer vacation not yet taken to South Dakota and then on the Yellowstone and the Tetons. We have visitors coming this week and next, my mom then Jeff and Emily. My life at home is good.
Glass Half Full: I only have five weeks until I get to go back to work. I love the excitement the staff and students feel on the first day of school when everything is new. I love talking to apathetic teenagers and making them care, even just a little, about what I have to say. I love watching a student who worked so hard on an essay see the rewards with a good grade. I love watching a student discover that English doesn't "suck," that words and writing are what drive education. I love having educational and non-educational discussions with my colleagues. I work with some amazing people at Waunakee. I love grading those first few papers of the year.
I love teaching, and in five weeks I get to be a teacher again -- not before I enjoy an awesome five weeks with my boys. I am so lucky! Yes, the glass is certainly half full.
1 comment:
Anybody who gets 10 paid weeks off per year is LUCKY!!! It's the least the world could do for so badly underpaying the teachers of our children. Hope you guys have a great week.
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