Up until a few years ago, my attitude toward summer vacation was fairly universal as a teacher was fairly universal. Counting down every day, minute till the school year was done. Moving out of the classroom a few years ago didn’t really change that anticipation. But the last year or two things are different. I still enjoy July and August but not in the same way. It’s partly because of my job. As a classroom teacher, your job in many ways comes to a complete stop and September offers a new start with new kids and often new teaching assignment. There is a finality about June, not to mention the need to have time away from kids and the demands of the classroom.
For me though, I don’t get as excited as I once did about June and it’s not just that I haven’t spend 185 days with kids, although that does make a difference, but as I said before, I still longed for summer vacation even after I left the classroom.
Here are a couple of reasons:
- I’m still working. This summer I’ll be teaching an undergrad class at the University of Regina. I’m very excited about this opportunity. It’s entirely online which allows me to roam freely about and this summer I will be roaming. I’ve had great freedom to design the course the way I’d like and it will be an exploration of social software and new pedagogies. It runs from July 3-August 16. I also have 4 other workshops/sessions. One at BLC in Boston and 3 here in Moose Jaw in mid August.
- Learning Never Stops. This is really the reason right here. I used to shut down in the summer. Never thought about work or school. I can’t do that for extended periods of time. I love learning, reading and writing. I’ll take short breaks for a couple of days but really don’t want to miss out. While the blogosphere may take a bit of a vacation, there are enough learners like myself who do not shut off in summer. Connected learning is addictive. This is not to say others shouldn’t take a break. Maybe there are other things you’ll spend the summer learning, or maybe lying on a sandy beach is what you need. For me, I’ve never taken a “beach” or “cabin” vacation where you leave it all behind for more than about 3 days. Our summer vacation will include driving to Boston, New York City, Toronto…a total of over 7,000 km or 4,500 miles. For many that doesn’t sound very relaxing. That’s the way I like it.
I think it’s called life long learning or something like that.
Image: June 2, 2006
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedsherarts/158937491/
Technorati Tags: school, summervacation, learning
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June 19th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I hear yeah. I look forward to my summers as a time of deep thinking and deep learning. Summers are no longer the vacations they use to be, instead the learning, the conversations continue, at a slower pace, but still push forward. There is always this big build up to NECC as well which keeps those attending on their toes until it’s over. Like you I’m teaching some Univ. classes this summer, and working on some projects to hit the ground running next August. Summers have changed and I enjoy the relaxed learning atmosphere that mine have taken on.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Dean,
I love the summer, too. It is so quiet in the building, and I finally get a chance to take a breath, think, plan, read, and write. I also actually eat lunch out a couple times a week with other principals. That is a luxury that I don’t have during the school year.
It was nice to see that you will be in Boston for Alan’s BLC07. I went last year, and loved it, so I am going again this year. I will check out your workshop.
See you in Bean town!
Dave
June 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Hi, your blog seems to be really nice!! Are you interested in exchanging links? My blog is at http://changingtechnology.blogspot.com/ and it’s about the latest gadgets and the technology used. Do let me know if you are interested. I too will put up a link to your blog on mine. Thanks.