Summer Goals

The most frequent question I am asked as a teacher is not about teaching.  It is "What are you going to do this summer?"  Maybe, it is because people in other professions don't get 8 weeks away from the office that the notion of how teachers spend their summers is so intriguing.  Of course, the answer is different for every teacher.  Some have summer jobs to supplement their income.  I did that earlier in my career, but I'm happy to be at a point now where that is not necessary.  Some do summer camps or summer school teaching, but I feel like that would cause me to feel like my life was one continuous school year.  I need to "not do kids" during the summer so that I am ready to see them again in August.  And, of course, there are teachers who unplug completely.  

I use the summer to do the things I haven't had time to do during the school year.  It breaks down into four categories - home stuff, school stuff, physical stuff, and reading.

Home Stuff
Entropy happens, y'all.  Closets get disorganized.  Bathrooms get gross.  Weeds grow like . . . well, weeds.  So, every day of the summer, I have an hour or two set aside for home projects.  Instead of just wiping down the kitchen counter, I remove everything from the counter and give it a good scrub.  On Tuesday, I took every item out of my closet, threw away things that haven't been used in a while and put everything neatly back in it.  I know that by the end of October, it won't look this good anymore, but for right now, it makes me happy.  Mondays are for yard work.  You get the idea.

School Stuff

For some teachers, this is an offensive thought.  They don't want to do schoolwork during their breaks.  I get it, but for me, it is the time to reach for improvement.  I might take a webinar and will definitely read books about cognitive science.  I have two to three hours each day for school-related stuff.  This year that means book edits (I finally figured out how to do it without iBooks Author) and finishing the construction of the teaching video collection that I started in the summer after the hybrid year.  

Next year, I will be taking on a new role at school, which entails teaching a two-day per week study skills course to middle and high school students and doing presentations for teachers.  So, today, I started creating a structure for the class and will begin planning out the year for that when a book I ordered arrives.  I've made one short teacher presentation based on the book I just read and have a few more in mind.  Of course, more of those will be made in November after the Learning and the Brain conference!  

I know.  I know.  This is a lot of school stuff.  I'm not sure I'll get it all done, but I am moving from 18 years of yearbook teaching to my new role as Brain Enthusiast; so it is needed.  If the videos and book edits don't get finished, it will be okay.  I can save those for next summer.

Physical Stuff

For the past ten summers, I have parked my car in the driveway and not driven it again until camp.  However, with the end of the yearbook and my afternoons becoming more flexible, I joined the YMCA in March.  Let me tell you, it is the best thing I've ever done for myself; I love taking group classes.  There will be a post in the future about my teachers there and how they are amazing educators without even knowing it (but I feel like I should wait to get to know them a little while longer before I ask them if I can take their pictures).  Anyway, I am taking a group class at the Y every day of the week this summer (Kickboxing, Group Power (weightlifting), Boot Camp, and four Spin classes), which will result in a little less walking.  I still have a couple of mornings that I will walk to the bank or post office or something, but the classes at the Y are butt-kickers, so I don't need to walk everywhere I go.

When I started at the Y, I gave myself two months to acclimate with no other goals than "try a lot of things" and "don't leave any class before it is over."  In mid-May, I started stepping it up.  I stood on the spin bike and started adding some of the higher-intensity moves in kickboxing.  This week, I set some goals for where I want to be at the end of the summer.  I want to eliminate the XS weight from the mix and do push-ups in Group Power by August.  I want to stand at all cues to do so in the Cycle classes and increase the amount of tension I use regularly.  I've only been to Boot Camp twice, so I don't know what goals to set in there yet.  I was worried when I joined that I would be one of those people who donates money to the gym but doesn't go.  It turns out that I love it so much I am bummed if I can't go.  The kickboxing class is the highlight of my week, and I love the feeling of being sore in the morning (even if I did say I thought Matt tried to kill me after the first Group Power class).  

Reading

By far, the biggest difference between the school year and the summer is how much time I have to read for pleasure.  I finished the required summer reading book already so I could get it out of the way.  Then, I started tackling my To Be Read pile.  I read Your Future Self Will Thank You by Drew Dyck and have made a teacher presentation based on it.  I like to intersperse the fun with the serious, so next up is Matilda by Roald Dahl.  Then, I'll get back to brain science or theology followed by a Dean Koonz novel.  During the lockdown summer and the summer after the hybrid year, I found focusing long enough to read entire books really challenging, so I am thrilled to have my brain back this year.

I know there are many people who are bothered by teachers having summer.  Teachers pack a full year of work into the 10 months we are in the school, so we need the summer to charge the batteries that were drained during the year.  If your child is in my class next year, you should be glad I am starting fresh.    And because of all of the goals I have during the summer, I can fully devote my attention to your child during the school year.