There is a false sense of finality with the end of the school year. While students (and many teachers) countdown the days left in the school year, I find myself thinking about next school year as much as the final days of this school year.
That is the push, the rub, and the difficulty of keeping the work moving. Closing the chapter on one school year and taking the time to reflect on the current year is hard but it’s an important opportunity. In the same way that many of the best reflections about classes happen right after a class is over, some of the best thoughts and planning can happen at the end of the school year.
At the same time, teachers need to do work on themselves to process the year personally. Some need time away from it all, others lean into other work, and some of us just keep on through the summer.
Balancing all of this is tough. Some summers I have completely disconnected from the work at school, other times I’ve taken some time away, and reconnected later. This summer I’m choosing to stay connected, and lean in to do summer work for my school with more depth than I have in years past.
My school has funds to allow teachers to collaborate to work on projects like developing curriculum. I’ve worked together with some other teachers to put together proposals and we have been fortunate to have funds allotted to us.
I’m looking forward to this time with these other teachers. The pace of the school year doesn’t seem to allow enough time to have deeper conversations, and really slow down to think and about the work of teaching. Many great ideas are often left to a “later” that never comes. This summer that “later” will become a reality.
It might be nice to have some time away from the “work” but something I’ve learned about being away is that it’s not always location faraway, and doesn’t need to happen in a long period of time.
Sometime being away can be in a book, in a ten minute walk with your dog, or in a conversation with a friend. You can be thousands of miles away from the work and still be stuck with work on your mind. How we can switch in and out of how we engage with this work mentally is often aided by the physical separation, but a trip doesn’t guarantee time to process and refresh.
This summer is going to feel different, and I think that’s going to be good for me. My family is a priority of course, and work will have to fit in with that. What is nice is that my work can bend to my family as opposed to the other way around, which is how it feels for much of the school year. Two more weeks with students, and then it begins.
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