It’s been two days since the students of PWCS were released for the summer to an unsuspecting world.
Drivers are enjoying their commute just a little more because there are fewer vehicles on the road. Parents are happy that kids are home and schedules may be slowing down a little, but secretly they are already counting the days until school starts again. Children started planning their summer during spring break: pool time, beach, text these people, call these friends, sleepovers on these days, ride bikes or play outside on these days, and stay focused on every electronic device they own. Children become strange creatures during the summer: staying up until the wee hours of the morning and sleeping until the late afternoon. Thoughts of anything remotely associated with school are FAR from their minds.
What about teachers? What are teachers thinking as schools close for the summer?
The most famous myth that teachers “have the summers off” is absolutely, positively not true! This thought could not be further from the truth. Many teachers work a second job during the summer, needing the extra money to help pay off student loans. Some teachers, God bless them, teach summer school. Those teachers who are furthering their education continue with summer classes. One of the most common summer activities that teachers partake in is professional development. Instead of signing up during the school year and laboriously writing sub plans, many teachers choose to participate in professional development over the summer. Almost all my teacher friends, myself included, make all their doctor appointments in the summer. Projects for the house may get done over the summer. Spending time with family is a must during the summer. It’s difficult to do many of these simple things during the school year because, as most people don’t realize, education is not a typical 9-5 job. Hours and hours are spent grading papers and projects, writing lesson plans and creating assessments, most of the time outside of the classroom.
I would bet that every single teacher in this county, as well as the state and nation, are breathing a HUGE sigh of relief that summer is finally here. The end of the school year is just as crazy as the beginning of the school year: SOL testing, analyzing the SOL scores & data, packing up the classroom, finishing grades, attending graduations, picnics, award ceremonies and events and running around the school like a mad person getting signatures for the annual check-out packet. The countdown to the end of the school year can be compared to the part in a movie when the main character is standing in a hall and all of a sudden the hall is stretched to three times its length, and this character must get to the end, to the light, to the end of the school year.
At the end of the school year, I crash for a few days! I am in a state of unconsciousness and take two or three naps a day. Then I hit my TO DO LIST and off I go. This year, I am participating in a four-day Civil Rights Bus Tour that takes us from Birmingham to Selma & Montgomery and then on to Atlanta and ends around Greensboro. As a history geek, this trip is an opportunity of a lifetime.
Commuters: Enjoy the summer with less vehicles on the road! Parents: Enjoy your children this summer! Each year brings them closer to adulthood and then one day, they are off to college. Children: Enjoy the summer! Relax at the pool; hang out with your friends; watch TV and play computer games. Be a teenager!
Educators: Teachers, teacher assistants, secretaries, nurses, counselors, custodians, cafeteria workers, media specialists, administrators, and every single person who impacts a child – take the time this summer to relax, rest, and rejuvenate! Our children need every single one of you next year to help them receive the support they need to succeed. Too many uninformed and uneducated individuals think they know what is best for public education. WE KNOW WHAT THEY NEED! Our children need you to fight for them!
Happy Summer!
Riley O’Casey is a local educator who teaches middle school social studies. She is also an active member of the Prince William County Education Association.
This column is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the views of Bristow Beat, its editors, writers or sponsors.
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