Summer is nearly over

It's such a sad time of year. Summer vacation is almost over. There seems to be a general impression that teachers have three glorious months off in which they have no greater responsibility than eating bon-bons and watching "Jerry Springer" on television. I don't know any teachers who do that.

During this "vacation" I have attended five workshops/meetings totaling two and a half weeks' time. I have attended additional meetings to plan for a workshop that I am helping to facilitate. I have written and submitted a proposal to present at a statewide educational conference in Spring 2006. I have worked to update my website (Garden of Learning) and have been working on revising my curriculum to make it more relevant to students and exactly aligned to state standards. I have had to purchase and arrange furniture in my classroom to accommodate the new computers that were purchased for the yearbook class that I will be teaching this year. For the past week, I have spent "school hours" at school working in my classroom and meeting with administrators and support personnel.

Don't get me wrong, I have had time for two weeks of vacation with my husband. We've also managed to catch two baseball games. I also took several days to travel with my mother to visit my sister who lives in the LA area. It's not all work and no play (though sometimes it seems like it).

The point that I am trying to make is that teachers don't just sit around all summer despite what the general public thinks. We're busy year-round with school "stuff."

Oh, and one more thing. Teachers don't have three months off for summer. We have nine and a half weeks (though some states and districts have a shorter summer break even on a traditional school year calendar).