Why Summers are a “Necessity” in Education
As we continue into summer, something I hear a lot as an educator is, “Man, do I wish I had summers off.” “It must be nice to take a break for a couple of months.” “Teachers get paid for two months to do nothing?!”
Firstly, let me set the record straight for those who do not know. Teachers do not get paid for two months of summer. Teachers are paid their salary for 190-220 days of work, depending on the kind of contract you are on. Many teachers, if they can, opt to have some of their pay withheld throughout the school year in order to receive paychecks throughout the summer. Some districts do not offer this, which means after teachers receive their final check in May or June, they may not receive one again until August.
Teachers are NOT paid for this time off.
Yes, it can be easy to see this time as a treat. Many people would love to have two months of nothing to do. However, this time off is quite truly more a necessity than a treat. Do not get me wrong – every career or job needs built in time off. There is no job that does not come with its share of difficulties. Instead of shaming other careers, I wanted to bring to light why summer is a need for teachers.
Our hearts are exhausted.
Teachers spend upwards of 9 months out of the year caring for children that are not their own. They pour into these students not just academically but also emotionally, mentally, and sometimes even spiritually. They act as social workers, therapists, and second parents – maybe their only parents. We teach the Matildas – the ones who are only cared for within the school building. We help students process parents divorcing, navigating friendships, losing loved ones, and emotions that are too big for their little hearts and minds to process. Bear in mind that these are things we have little to no formal training in, and some days, academics are the last things we worry about. Remember, this is not just for one child but instead is multiplied by at least 20. Kids are going through things at a younger age, and while we LOVE pouring into our students, our hearts are tired after doing emotional labor for nine months.
Our brains are overstimulated.
If you have ever been in a school, you know that sometimes, it can often be defined as controlled chaos. Controlled in that there are expectations, rules, procedures, and structure, and chaos in that we are working with young humans who are still learning how to exist in a world that does not make a lot of sense and navigate big feelings, life, and school. It is hard to predict what each day in a school will bring, and there are so many times where I find myself thinking, “If you had asked me what my day would hold, it would NOT have been that.” Teaching can be incredibly overstimulating. Teachers work with 20-30 young people at one time, each one with different needs, goals, and personalities. Teachers are making hundreds and thousands of decisions each day from lesson planning to assessing students, observing and supervising students. The weight of this responsibility can take a toll, creating fatigue and overstimulation.
Our bodies are dysregulated.
Given the emotional and mental exhaustion, many teachers begin to feel the effects physically. Imagine that your brain has been in fight or flight for many months on end with too little recuperation time (because we all know that weekends are too short and are often filled with catching up on work that couldn’t be done throughout the week thanks to teaching). Many teachers face medical problems induced by stress. Hormones are thrown out of whack. Circadian rhythms suffer from stress and lack of sleep. Depending on the situation, teachers could be facing threats or violence any day of the week. Teachers every year face trauma within the school building that they cannot properly process because they have to “turn their teacher face back on.” This doesn’t even begin to include any outside of school experiences – the “real life” stuff that can affect teachers.
It’s not always “time off.”
Contrary to popular belief, summers are not always just time off. Many employed in the school district still have to work through the summer. Some teachers spend their summer planning for the upcoming year because there’s never enough time during the school year to prepare. Some teachers have to attend mandatory training or professional development for their school or district. Some need to work summer jobs to help make ends meet (remember – we don’t get paid for these summers off). Sometimes, teachers just need the summer to catch up on their real life – doctors appointments, dentist appointments, cleaning their home, taking care of their families. Sometimes, summer time is a time for teachers to catch up on the rest of life that they have fallen behind on.
Yes, we get summers off…
But it’s not always a treat. It’s a necessity. It’s a time of recovering, healing, and resting from the emotionally, physically, and mentally taxing job of teaching. Yes, other jobs are exhausting and hard in their own ways; I’m not saying that teaching is the hardest job (though it would rank up there in my top 5 for sure). I’m not saying that other jobs aren’t deserving of time off either. What I am saying is that summer isn’t just easy free time. It’s vital for teachers to recover and recharge so that they can enter the next school year healed, healthy, and ready to teach their next group of students.
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