| | "...and the livin' is easy..." I do enjoy a summer break. Most would think I get to lie beside the pool, travel to exotic locations, frolic through field of colorful wildflowers, and stay up late in the evenings and sleep late in the mornings. Much of this is not true. |
In fact, if you look at the list I've already accomplished, you might think I've kept myself pretty busy: I've already attended my daughter's two concerts for band and chorus, celebrated my son's sixth birthday, attended a talent show and a looong awards assembly, written three sermons to preach for churches in Nevada, Missouri, and Columbus, Kansas, planned our family excursion, led singing at church, cleaned the house (a little), cleaned out the car, mowed the grass, attended a meeting, and even explored the district's new grade-specific Readiness Indicators and Missouri's new Learning Standards.
The kids have only been out of school for a few days, and they're already whining that they are bored. They've played with all their toys, mastered countless levels of video games, and watched DVDs involving Disney villains and a goofy dog trying to learn how to ski. They already lost Nerf darts in the trees, chalked up the driveway, and each has been at the other's throat for his/her annoying habits.
So now there is nothing else to do.
And that's the thing about this extended break that I enjoy the most. It is the thing that gets us ready to begin a new year of school. It's what keeps my job fresh. You see, at the end of the school year, this teacher is done. Exhausted. Kaput. He's tired of the routine, tired of the content, tired of getting up so early in the morning, tired of assessing student work, tired of entertaining the masses, tired of tiresome meetings, and yes, there are times he's even tired of 10-year-olds he's not allowed to paddle. Summer is the time he uses to discover his creative spirit once again. It's the time he's able to step back and spend some time looking forward to new ideas that he just knows will solve all the problems he's faced in the previous 26 years of teaching.
And by the time the end of summer (the break, not the season) gets here, he'll be chomping at the bit to get away from the exotic vacations and the field frolicking. He'll be ready to face a new crop of youngsters in order to mold their minds and teach them manners to get them through life.
Will this year be the one where he meets a future president, a future inventor, or a future medical innovator? Who knows? Right now, I'm busy trying to find a comfortable position on the couch while at the same time thumbing through the channels on the satellite to locate one more program that I'm really not interested in at all.
Anticipation...
The kids have only been out of school for a few days, and they're already whining that they are bored. They've played with all their toys, mastered countless levels of video games, and watched DVDs involving Disney villains and a goofy dog trying to learn how to ski. They already lost Nerf darts in the trees, chalked up the driveway, and each has been at the other's throat for his/her annoying habits.
So now there is nothing else to do.
And that's the thing about this extended break that I enjoy the most. It is the thing that gets us ready to begin a new year of school. It's what keeps my job fresh. You see, at the end of the school year, this teacher is done. Exhausted. Kaput. He's tired of the routine, tired of the content, tired of getting up so early in the morning, tired of assessing student work, tired of entertaining the masses, tired of tiresome meetings, and yes, there are times he's even tired of 10-year-olds he's not allowed to paddle. Summer is the time he uses to discover his creative spirit once again. It's the time he's able to step back and spend some time looking forward to new ideas that he just knows will solve all the problems he's faced in the previous 26 years of teaching.
And by the time the end of summer (the break, not the season) gets here, he'll be chomping at the bit to get away from the exotic vacations and the field frolicking. He'll be ready to face a new crop of youngsters in order to mold their minds and teach them manners to get them through life.
Will this year be the one where he meets a future president, a future inventor, or a future medical innovator? Who knows? Right now, I'm busy trying to find a comfortable position on the couch while at the same time thumbing through the channels on the satellite to locate one more program that I'm really not interested in at all.
Anticipation...
