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What do teachers do in the summer? The better question is: what don’t teachers do in the summer? But seriously, while most people probably think educators spend their long summer vacations sunbathing on the beach while sipping martinis, the reality is that many of them are hard at work planning for the coming year. Teachers work so hard during the year, that for many of them, the summer is the best time they have to reflect on the year that passed and plan for the year ahead.
The answer is a resounding yes! Many educators actually spend the summer working in informal education, summer school and other unrelated jobs. In addition, though most educators are also taking advantage of this time to plan their lessons and organize their classrooms. Teachers have more homework than all of their students combined. They can’t just walk in on the first day of school and have everything magically ready. Things come together when school starts because of the time educators are putting in over the summer to make sure that everything is ready for their students when they arrive on the first day back from summer vacation.
There are so many ways for an educator to use their time, and one of them should definitely be self care. This includes taking time to relax, see family and friends, and just enjoy themselves. In addition to the relaxing part of vacation, summer is the best time for teachers to think about the upcoming year. A big part of this should be deciding on the best classroom layout, and what furniture is needed to achieve that. There might be a few classroom chairs that need to be replaced, or a new tablet cart that needs to be ordered to store and charge your new devices for the classroom. You certainly don’t want to start school without these essentials, so you want to make sure that you take the time to ensure that they will be there on time, during the summer. That might also involve being in school when the new items are delivered to make sure they don’t somehow find their way into someone else’s classroom.
Obviously, there is no way to know exactly what will work for your class, even for a very experienced teacher. However, the summer is a great time to look into new materials that can be added to spice up and update your lessons. Especially in fields that are evolving all the time such as STEAM, it is critical for teachers to keep up with the latest trends and developments, and to try to get the equipment and furniture that will allow them to bring these innovations into the classroom. Teachers can also use the time to look back on the year that passed and adjust the materials that didn’t work. This might include updating projects to include more 21st century skills such as collaboration and innovation. It could also mean setting clearer goals and guidelines, or changing deadlines.
The bottom line is, anyone who is asking what teachers do in the summer has clearly never been one. Educators have been known to take advantage of this time to plan for the year ahead, including curriculum development, catching up on new ideas, and setting up their classrooms. And yes, they probably do take some time to enjoy themselves, just like any other hard-working professional, on a well-deserved break.
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