Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime!

Aaahhhh, summer!  Nothing like being a teacher in the summer time.  You know the old saying: the three best things about being a teacher are June, July, and August…

Summer time.  Time to read some novels on the beach; time to toss a baseball around in the park; time to sit in the sun and sip on a beverage of my choice…

BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!

The alarm was going off.  It was six in the morning.  I dragged myself out of bed and out of the dream I was having.

Who actually thinks that teachers get to lounge around for three months of vacation?  For my part, this fantasy was most likely born from my days as a student.  Back then, I imagined that teachers had the same schedule as students did.  I thought teachers worked only those hours when students were in their classrooms.  While students had to do homework, I never imagined teachers having to work after three o’clock.  Moreover, of course, no one (teachers or students) worked in the summer time.

Back in the real world, I showered, dressed, and made some coffee.  At eight, I was due at the district professional development institute.  Our whole team would be there.

I work in the Education Academy, at Skyline High School in Oakland CA.  I teach one of the career electives, Introduction to Education, and World History for our Academy’s sophomores.  Other teachers on my team teach English, science, and math.  Our academy director teaches the other two career electives, Education Psychology for juniors and Peer Education for seniors.

During the institute, we would be working on the vision and goals of our career academy.   We will identify various learning objectives for our students and design curriculum that will allow our kids to gain the knowledge and skills outlined by our goals.

While it’s not the fantasy of novels and baseball, I’m looking forward to getting to work with my colleagues on our classes and curriculum.

And… unlike during the days when I am teaching children…  during our summer work, I can get up and go to the bathroom whenever I want!

It’s the little things.