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?
