Overloaded

School has ended, and I'm now on summer break. "Must be nice to have summers off" teachers often hear from non-teachers. I personally never quite know how to respond. If I say, "Yes, it is," I might sound defensive. If I say, "Well, I earned it," that sounds like bragging. But the reality is this: the general public thinks KIDS should have summers off, but they don't seem to feel adults should as well.

It IS nice to have put aside enough money to rest for a couple of months. There's a misconception that teachers are paid for their time off. Not true. Our ten-month paychecks are divided over twelve months. I have earned that money. Teaching takes a toll on bodies and minds it's hard to articulate what it's like to teach for a year.. I love my work and my students, but I need a break. Imagine if more Americans were given the opportunity to take one to two months off from work, what would their productivity be like?

I understand that my colleagues  work second and/or third jobs for 'extra money,' especially during the summer. I think it's a shame, but having done it myself, I know it's necessary because everything is expensive and our salaries don't always provide for necessities.

I love my students and my work. I love watching their faces glow with knowledge when they realize something or dance when they ace an essay. I love working with them to help them understand a concept or a novel. I appreciate their confidence in me for their letters of recommendation or simply to just talk about their anxieties, goals, happiness...whatever. When I try to sleep at night, they intrude into my thoughts. I worry about their grades, their home lives, them. They are on my mind when it's the weekend. They are on my mind over our short breaks throughout the year.

Teaching youth is an amazing profession. Not everyone can do it or should do it. Teachers have the capacity to lift up or destroy a child. It's an awesome responsibility. But it takes a toll. There is a level of exhaustion teachers have at the end of the year that is difficult to describe. Even the hairs on my head are tired.

So when people say in their snarky way, "Must be nice to have summers off," my response is now, "Yes, it is." And smile.