I don’t know if you miss me. For we been together like Nike Airs and fresh tees. The immeasurable seasons we’ve lived under Covid rule and the recent loss of my father make relishing you feel different. We all waited so long for you to come and now that you’re here, I find myself sparring with the days that pass and tallying the days that are still left. I wake up with you on my mind and questions I can’t seem to answer: What am I supposed to do with you? What am I supposed to be doing? Oh Summer, our relationship has been tripping me out lately. 

Teachers teach. And regardless of what they tell you on Twitter, what we do takes so much of our insides out. That’s why I always loved it when we got together. When I was finally able to spend time with you. But these days I don’t know how to treat you, how to spend time with you, how to belong to you. I remember the ways we used to connect. How you would help me recharge and grow. I still take long walks and longer bike rides with you, but now you leave me unfulfilled when I get home. You leave me with a feeling like I need to do more with you because what I’ve been doing over the past few weeks hasn’t been enough. Is it you or me?

I ain’t none of these half-ass newcomers, you know how I do, Summer. I’m talking about years and years ago. When we would both be overflowing with markers and memories. Years ago, I came to the realization that you are such a devilish juxtaposition! So, I thought I had you figured out. Today I realize that you’ve been playing this cruel cruel game with me all along. Letting me sleep in, just so that I would miss you more when I link up with Autumn. Keeping the lights on way later into the night just so that I would think of you when I’m with Winter. I see what you’re doing. 

I still love you though. Don’t ever mistake that. I just wish that we could come to more amicable terms. Ever since you found out that I became a teacher you’ve been subtly sticking it to me. You don’t like that I am able to use you to my full advantage and because of that all you do is play mind games with me. Telling me that you’re leaving soon: I mean do you really have to shove Back to School advertisements in my face in mid July? I just want us to be honest with each other. 

Let’s come to a compromise. You tell me how you would like me to treat you and I promise I will try my best to accommodate. Because for these last three years, you haven’t been acting like yourself at all. And all I want is my old thang back. Can we meet in the middle? 

I don’t know how else I can express this thing I have for you. Did I always like Autumn just a little bit better? Honestly, yes. But after her, everything else reminds me of how much I long for you. Don’t blame me for the fact that I sometimes become preoccupied and think about my job when I’m with you. I can’t help it. I didn’t take that job because of you. If you say you love something you should let it out its cage and if it comes back you know it’s meant to stay. That’s where I position you. A fleeting love. Something I cherish and hope that will reciprocate the value I put towards it. But you haven’t been acting like it. At least not for the last little while. So please Summer, as a seasoned teacher, tell me how to best take care of and cherish you. 

The post Dear Summer appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.

Yes, right about this time of the summer break, teachers all across the country start to get a little fidgety as we all know half the summer vacation is over. The reason for the uneasiness of it all: there might be that slight notion that we are not enjoying our summer break enough. Well, if that is how you feel, here are three things you can do to make sure that you do enjoy your summer break.

1. Get Out

Please, please, please do not spend your entire 8-week vacation indoors. I mean it’s all good to catch up on some of your favorite TV shows and get in a few of the movies you’ve been dying to see, but you don’t want to be the person who comes back to work after summer vacation and lists off every “must see” show on Netflix.

Plus, if you live in a place like me (Toronto, Canada), these warm weather days are fleeting. Soak them up: go for a walk to the park with a book, take a trip to a public pool, or better yet, the beach, or head to the city and explore a bit. Who cares what you do outside, it is much better than anything you can do indoors.

2. Achieve one Goal

And no I am not talking about playing Pokémon Go. See, in real life, there are things that actual humans set out to accomplish. Think back to right before the school year ended. You probably whispered to yourself something to the tune of, “I swear this summer, when I get the chance I am going to…”. That thing, whatever it was, go and do it. I bought a bicycle right before the school year had ended and I have made sure I’ve used it at least a few times every week. It is not necessarily a massive goal to go out for a bike ride every now and then. But it is something I said I was going to do, so I am following through. However big or small, get a few of the things you promised yourself done.

3. Do Not Think About School Until it Is Time to Think About School

This might end up being a whole new blog onto itself. But it is true, many times we end up spending too much time tinkering with “school stuff” over the summer only to end up…never even using it! I remember one summer I devoted a bunch of time to creating units and lesson ideas for a geography course. The school year came and went and I never got the opportunity to infuse them. It is not that I forgot about them, it was just that they were not going to work with my students. It is never a waste of time to prepare for the upcoming school year, but preparing does not need to be done in bits and pieces over the entire summer break. Take a two-week block right before school starts and get back in “teacher mode” then.

Fully feeling like you are making the most of your summer vacation isn’t as easy as it seems. Hopefully these three ideas will help make August a little more relaxing for you.

[share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true”]

The post 3 Steps to Enjoying Your Summer Break appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.

The summer break is probably the cruelest juxtaposition a teacher faces in her career. I mean, it is all good that we get an entire two months vacation right smack during the best time of the calendar year. I mean, yes the summer break, or some time off is definitely needed in this profession; by June we are all exhausted and in need of some R & R. But I am not talking about the meta-idea of the summer break. I am talking about the nuts and bolts of it. The “midway through summer break” summer break. That can be, at times, very excruciating.

Let me explain, so we are in the last week of July, you have been on break for about a month. Great. All fine and dandy. Maybe you haven’t gone away yet, saving those plans for later; perhaps right before the school year starts again. But then you start to think about all the time that you have left. Selfishly, each day that goes on, especially once August hits, becomes another day closer to the start of school and the grind continuing all over again. So what do you do to make sure you fully enjoy your entire summer vacation?

Well, I would assume that most teachers are type A personalities. That eagerness to get something completed is constantly on our minds. The time sensitiveness trait for me has me on the verge of an anxiety attack. I need to make sure I get the most out of my “free time”. Waking up at whatever time I please and rolling through a day with my main priority being “to relax” is just going to get me more strung up. I’ve tried this during my first couple of summer breaks and I just couldn’t help but feel that I had wasted my two months. Besides a vacation here or there and some memorable moments with family and friends, I always had this cloud weighing over my head that would never quite burst. But once the first weeks of school started it was too late to contemplate. It was back to work.

So this year I made a new plan. And my plan, well actually… was to make a plan. To avoid that feeling of a “wasted day” (I know, I am sounding really selfish right now to any non-teachers reading this), I would schedule mine out. Every day, I would start with the time I wanted to wake up and from there I would create thirty minute to one hour intervals of various things that all related to my overall goals for the summer. From small activities to big projects; the tasks ranged from reading to working out to painting the kitchen. Without planning my day, it may seem like I would be relaxing a lot more. But for many teachers, relaxing doesn’t consist of day after day of lawn chairs and canopies. There is always room for that, but when you have two months off, there are other things that equate to relaxing as well.

[share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true”]

The post The Juxtaposition of Summer Break appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.

Yep. It is that time of year. For most schools, June marks the end of a long run and the culmination of the school year. For the most part, tests, trips, and major lessons are in the rear view. In June, the sun is out on most days, our classrooms are filled with the buzz of fans blowing hot air mixed with the smell of “teen spirit”. In elementary schools, this is always an opportune time to talk about personal hygiene and “coming of age”! But besides the somewhat relaxed tone that this time of year takes, school during the last month of the year is always a rewarding time. We are in school in June, so when in June…I guess we need to do like June does…

For teachers and students alike, the month of June seems to finalize the nostalgia of learning. Once students and teachers simultaneously realize that we have made it out of the trees, we can finally take a step back and gaze at the forest. There are still things that I need to cover in terms of curriculum requirements over these last few weeks. But I am now able to slowly walk with my students in their learning instead of going Jesse Owens-status day in and day out.

I find myself breaking from a lesson to talk with my class about things that cross my mind through these June days. Today, towards the end of an English lesson, I abruptly paused and said to my class, “You notice we didn’t really get any new students mid-way through the year this year? I mean we have Morgan and Aeesha that are new to the school, but they came in September. It doesn’t even feel like they’re new.” On that note, we had a familial discussion about new students and reminisced about the new kids that came in prior years. That convo made my day.

I’ve always preached to my students that my class operates in a slightly-titled negotiation (obviously, “slightly-titled” in my direction) zone. But these days, I am a little more open to deals concerning time spent at the park on the caveat of a few solid periods of math and language instruction (I am also happy that I have used that word so much this year that my kids now understand it fluidly! Another win). In June, I also notice the little things more. Today, I observed a younger student walking in the middle of a 2nd grade line down the hallway with his index finger over his lips, signifying that he indeed was intent on making it to his next classroom quiet-style, just like he was taught back in kindergarten. If this was October or February, I probably would have marched right by him. But today I stopped, told him that I appreciated his hallway demeanor and gave him a high five. He smiled, kept it moving, finger still fixed on his lips.

There are a lot of great months to be a teacher. But the month of June may be up there near the top; simply for the energy that is in the building this time of year. We are still learning, but it almost seems like a different type of learning happens in June: a type of learning where both teachers and students are looking back and imaging ahead all at the same time. Thinking on through reflection and taking time while doing it. Before school is out for the summer break, I am going to really embrace these last few weeks. Because it is truly a time of transcendental experiences which leads to great learning opportunities.

[share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true”]

The post When in June… appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.

1. Sleep

This one is a no-brainer. After ten months and most likely multiple colds, that first week of summer break is a great time to catch up on some missed rest. The first thing I do once summer break begins is shut off my morning alarm. And by sleep I don’t only mean sleep in. It takes a while to break that habit of waking up early, so if you’re still waking up at around 6:30 a.m., try taking a nap or two throughout the day.

2. Purge Your Classroom

When I first started teaching, I was given a classroom that was chock-full of resources, binders and a ton of other things. And while it was great that this teacher decided to leave me many things to help me through my first year, I realized by the end of the year that I hardly used any of it. And even with my own things, there is so much that I either never use or just print off when the time comes. Technology has changed things for teachers but it still seems as though we are trailing behind. Gone are the days of the stacks and stacks of photocopies. One USB saves a lot of space. Tidy up your classroom by getting rid of anything that can be uploaded and re-printed.

3. Un-Plug

This is similar to the piece I wrote on how to avoid teacher burn-out. For one or two weeks, whether it is at the beginning, middle, or end of your summer break, it is imperative to take some time to do and think about things that are completely unrelated to school. Vacation time, exercise, or learning a new hobby are great ways to keep the mind off of contemplating what little thing you could do today to be more prepared for next year.

4. Reflect on the Year

Reflection is key in helping you become a more polished teacher. Making a conscious effort to think about the things that worked well in class juxtaposed with the things that didn’t well help you narrate how to do better next year. Also, focus on things that caused stress and things that were most memorable. These insights can provide great clarity leading into a new year.

5. One New Thing for Next Year

I know it is summer break and many teachers want to spend the time trying not to think about that first day or first week back. But most teachers inevitably contribute some aspect of their summer break to their professional development. Whether it is reading a book related to education, gathering a new resource, or coming up with an engaging lesson, activity, or assignment, you should take the time to create one new thing to add to your teacher’s tool belt over the summer. Last summer, I learned a new classroom management strategy (simply a phrase) from reading a blog that I thought I’d try with my class. By the last day in June, I was still using it to get my students’ attention.

Summer is the time for teachers to get the “Three R’s” in: rest, relax, and recover. But who are we kidding? All teachers feel the itch to do just a little something to prepare for next year. Find the balance between being productive and enjoying your well deserved vacation. The right balance will lead to a fulfilling summer break that will have you equipped to head back in once the break ends.

[share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true”]

The post 5 Things Every Teacher Should Do During Summer Break appeared first on Matthew R. Morris.