Two weeks into my summer break and I’m already missing my teacher ‘leagues. I wake up without an alarm and stumble through my day with no bells to mark time. Who’s going to keep me on track with my long To-Do list? Who’s going to remind me what the schedule is today? What time that PLC meeting starts? What I have to read or click through before moving on? Who’s going to discuss that message with me? Or what spirit wear is it tomorrow? Who’s got the latest chisme gossip?
The What’s App group chat has gone silent and I don’t know what to do without the daily videos, Q & A, jokes, or the one teacher responding three days late to a message long forgotten. I haven’t yet left behind the chaos of my ordinary school life, moving among five different rooms every day, maneuvering through hallways teeming with students larger than me and in no hurry to get to class, sitting in a loud office where I can’t get away even when I put on headphones to signal I’m off-duty.
It’s funny that I miss the noise and over-stimulation of school, but am quickly adjusting to “summer mode.” I’ve already completed a little road trip, a rowing regatta (where I won a medal just for showing up), a Primary Election, a mini family reunion, and a visit to the Tall Ships in Baltimore.
On my schedule this summer are meet-ups with teacher friends. A lunch, a karaoke night, a walk in the park, a rowing date, and evening drinks at a brew pub. That’s how I pass time in the summer. Seeing colleagues outside of school keeps me grounded and helps me reinforce who I really am. Ten months a year, a teacher’s identity is shaped by others, as we comply with rules and expectations.
During the summer, we’re free to celebrate who we really are. I’d feel a little lost without teacher friends to join me.
Eva K. Sullivan 