Grades are submitted and the 2013-14 academic year is in the books.
Summers are the best thing about being an educator. Notice I didn’t write “summers off are the best thing about being an educator?” Whoever thinks teachers get the summers off obviously never has been a teacher.
My summer workload so far consists of grading final exams and projects, finalizing the fiscal year’s activity for the Student Publications staff I advise, prepping for three fall classes, teaching three international classes, and working on my dissertation.
But I admit that all of those things are going to happen mostly on my schedule, which also will be filled with sun, swimming, barbecues, and hanging out with my children.
I wrote a post last year about 5 Things I’ll Need to Survive the Summer. Here’s this year’s version.
1. Books
Summer finds me in the middle of my 150 Book Reading Challenge. I plan to spend a lot of time on my favorite hobby.
2. iPhone
My iPhone is an appendage. I spend time on social media, reading books and blogs or just managing my life on it. I won’t be without it anywhere, even though it’s summer.
3. Flip flops
I spend pretty much the entire summer in my black flip-flops. They are the most comfortable shoes I own. I wish I could wear them everywhere, all the time, but I’m pretty sure teaching in flip-flops is frowned upon. Perhaps it would be better if I dressed them up with a suit? As it is, I’ll just wear them with gym shorts or cutoffs.
4. My Honda
My daughter turns 13 this summer and my 11-year-old son wants to attend every athletic camp we’ve received a flier for. I’m going to spend a lot of the summer driving kiddos around. I think my trusty little Honda will be my friend. Thank goodness it gets good gas mileage.
5. My Mac
I’m not sure when I became a techie, but I totally am. And I am a loyal Apple user. So much so that I sometimes find myself with my iPhone and iPad beside me while I’m working on my MacBook Pro. It’s a problem. I admit it.
Despite having a lot of great portable devices, I still prefer to work on my iMac. I just love that big screen. Since I’ll be spending mornings this summer writing on my dissertation and I have two new classes to prep for the fall semester, it’s likely that I’ll spend a lot of the summer in front of my computer. What’s new, right?
This is the short list of things I’ll need to survive the summer. I probably should have included the lawn mower, since the yard already seems to need mowing several times a week. It’s a good thing that’s one of my favorite summer chores, right?
Let’s Talk Nerdy!
What will you need to survive the summer?
Julie Bobino McLaughlin says
Wine, what about wine???
Prof KRG says
I need that to survive every season!
profkrg says
greavespg absolutely! I live summer grilling.