Last Day of Summer Vacation

Today is the last day of summer vacation, but it is not the last day of summer.  Therefore I do not feel sad about going back to school tomorrow.  There is still so much more to enjoy these next six weeks before fall officially sets in.  Cal has his senior year of tennis and he seems very excited about it.  Meg starts her first year of soccer with her Dad as a coach and will learn the nuances of high school life.  Cam already had a great first day at his new school and is looking forward to catching a riding with friends tomorrow morning.  With the sun and the beautiful weather there is a lot to look forward to without feeling bad about the last day of summer vacation.

I know I will see a lot of posts on Facebook or Twitter about the start of a new school year and the end of summer.  I own't read any of them.  I have already seen several articles posted about the teacher shortage in the Indiana and the frustration with the career in general, but I haven't read any of them.  I decided last year that I would stop worrying about the shortcomings of my profession and stop the negativity swirling around in my own mind.  Instead I would focus on the reason I started teaching - being a positive influence on students.  I also decided that I did not have to be Super Teacher to be a good teacher.  I realized that if I put my classroom above my own children and husband I would be miserable and so would they.  Instead I started coming up with creative ideas for my students to take ownership in the classroom and to rely on each other for help.  I noticed that they liked the idea.  They wanted to help and they wanted to learn independent of me.  Instead I became a facilitator.  One who oversees the classroom, but doesn't dictate to everyone what they should be doing at every moment.  It was their classroom, not mine.  They should have a say in how it is run.  Even the most reluctant learners started to embrace the new style.  They helped come up with discipline ideas, took charge of the supplies and even helped in planning the lessons for the week.  There were times I had to strongly encourage certain ideas, but I did notice that my classes started to take ownership of their own learning and I could relax a little.

My plan is to follow this even more so this year.  We will start with classroom jobs, talking about individual learning plans and delving into inquiry based learning even further.  I will not be Super Teacher.  When I leave at 2, I will be what I truly love - the mom of four and wife of one.  There is no reason I cannot be that.  It is up to me to make that happen and I know by doing so I will be a better teacher for it as well as a better mother and wife.