Dear Admin,
Whew! We made it to summer break. The end of the school year is upon us. I’d like to congratulate you and my fellow teachers on another successful school year. We taught students everything from working hard to being kind to others, and we’re all ready for a little break.
Now, kind of like the reverse of Game of Thrones, summer is here. On behalf of every teacher ever, I want to ask you to please let me have a real summer break.
What do I mean, you ask? Here are just a few ways you can help us all get some rest.
Don’t text me about next year during the summer.
I know it might seem pressing to you. But by the time I’m ready to leave school for the summer, I have put so much of myself into the school year that I like to pretend school doesn’t exist for a while. I like to pretend that summer won’t ever end. Please, don’t send a text the first few weeks after school wraps up. It reminds me that my summer will indeed end. Your message can wait until August.
No, professional development books aren’t my idea of summer reading.
No. Nope. Nuh unh. I do not work hard during the school year so I can sit at the pool on a warm summer afternoon with a cold one and a book about differentiation in the classroom. That isn’t my idea of fun. I like my summers. Please don’t invade them with work-related literature that comes off as required reading.
If you are looking for suggestions, I have a great idea. Let’s do a summer Netflix watch list. We can watch that new Adam Sandler movie, The Office reruns, or The Bourne Ultimatum, which Netflix just made available!
I know PD is important, but not for two weeks in July.
Listen, I’m all for being the best teacher I can be. I know my teacher friends and colleagues want to be the best they can be, as well. However, if at all possible, I’d like to be the best teacher I can be between the months of August and May. In the summer, I like to be the best dad, husband, traveler, movie watcher, napper, etc., that I can be. I’m sure the PD you have planned is important, informational, and even fun, but please don’t schedule it in July. It really interferes with that time off we dream of.
When you email in summer, don’t hit “send all.”
I beg you to stop! If you must email during the summer, please send the email only to the people who need the information! I do not need my Netflix marathons, baseball games, and NBA coverage interrupted by reading a lengthy email that has nothing to do with me. No one has time for send all.
Please remember that we’re not all relaxing.
Summer is a wonderful and amazing time of relaxation for many teachers. But it’s also a time to take on a second, or third, job for others. It is also a time to work on a master’s or PhD. Don’t assume we’re doing nothing.
With all due respect, I’m not on payroll in the summer.
As you already know, none of us got into teaching for the money. We love what we do, despite the low pay. That said, you also know that while we receive a well-earned paycheck in the summer, it only reflects the work we have done during the school year. That said, we shouldn’t be asked to continue to do the work of a teacher during the summer months. We aren’t being paid for that.
I love what I do. I really do. Part of the reason why I can love what I do is because of this break that I can use to relax and reset. Please let me have that.
