Dear Colleagues,

The other day I was intrigued by the blog Do Teachers Deserve All Their Holiday Time? and I couldn’t help but echoing what the author said: “Teachers must be “on” for an entire school day. Then stay after hours to coach or supervise extracurricular. Then go home to mark papers, tests, and essays and prepare for the next day’s lessons… How many actors, disc jockeys, weathermen, or talk-show hosts perform for six or more hours in a row? Few radio announcers’ shifts last longer than three to four hours…because it’s hard to stay “on” for longer than that.” Yes, teaching is a highly stressful job and teachers do deserve their holidays. That is why we welcome summertime with its fun and rest. But the summertime is the most important time for professional development as well, and while you might be tempted to hold off till September, don’t stop yet!  Mix hard work into the fun and you might walk away with a well grounded plan for the next academic year. Here are some ideas shared by your colleagues how to combine rest and discoveries.
Elena