Teachers and Aides Need A Summer Break

     It is that time of the year once again.....Summer. For some that means just another season. To those of us in the education profession that means everything. When school starts for the year we begin the countdown to the much needed Summer Break. We live for Summer. The one time that we can actually rest and recharge so that we can be at our best to teach the children that come through our classrooms.

     Oh yes, we do love a good snow day now and then. But, here in West Virginia the law says that we have to go to school 180 days no matter what. A snow day, though we love them very much means that we have to make them up and sometimes that means adding days on at the end of the school year. Cutting into our precious Summer Vacation that we have longed for. In turn we may only get a month of vacation before school starts back up.

     If you don't work in education you have no idea how important Summer is to us. We teach your children for 180 days. We deal with the problems that come with that. Sometimes we have to deal with parents who just are not the nicest. Sometimes students and parents can make our job that much harder. 

     There is also the fact that we have to have professional development days during the year so that we can learn how to better educate your children on what the state says that we have to teach them. A lot of the time we (like you) don't understand some of the things that we have to teach. New things are thrown at us all the time. 

     We spend hours of our time during the year planning and prepping to teach lessons for your children. We come to school early in the morning and stay late at night to get things done. Sometimes we come in on the weekends to make sure that the lessons are just right. 

     We make sure to make alternative lessons for that one time when things don't work out. That would be like if we are using technology and something will not work. We also plan for emergencys. Those times when a student gets sick during a lesson or an accident happens. We are prepared. We know what to do. 

     We are prepared for schedule changes. Like when we have a 2 hour delay and all we get done is eat. Maybe it is the fire drill that took longer than thought because it is not a drill and we have to make alternatives. The assembly that takes place at 9:30 that we were not informed of. The lock down that keeps us in our room for 2 hours. 

    Teachers go through a lot to make sure that your child's learning experience is a successful one. That is why Summer (how ever much we get) is so important to us. We need time to relax and de-stress. This job is not easy. We would not do it if we did not love it. 

     So do us all a favor and give us a break. We would appreciate it. Our job is stressful enough.