“Must be nice to have three months off.” This is the rejoinder I hear when people I meet find out that I am a teacher and have just finished the school year. Yes, teachers do take time off during the summer. So do most people. What is it we teachers do over the summer?
I ended teaching duties on June 1st and will go back to teaching August 19th. That’s eleven weeks. This is about average for most schools. Year-long schools break this “off” time up into smaller chunks. Here’s a partial list of what teachers do over the summer:
Analyze the past year’s assessment data and make necessary changes to curriculum and lesson plans
Re-align curriculum
Establish new curriculum for new courses
Establish pacing guides and assessments for new preps
Attend conferences
Present at conferences
Read professional books
Teach summer school
Part-time job
Read assessments for AP and IB exams
Collaborate with local colleges
Write and publish articles
Write and publish books
Technology training
Sit on hiring committees
Teach summer academic camps
Reflect over the past year
A few of the above activities are paid, but most of them are not. Some teachers do nothing “work related” over the summer. Many of them feel that they are paid for the time allocated in the contract—period! Teachers should be paid for work done over the summer. But, just as in may other professions, time to reflect on one’s practice is part of the job. This makes for better teaching practice.
I’ll still be checking in on the blogs over the summer. In between trips to the mountains and pool.
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