It's one of my favorite times of year, the lead up to the start of school. I posted on TikTok a video of the first day I went into my classroom this summer and while some viewers shared my excitement, others said they absolutely do not want to go back into the classroom when it's still their time.
And I get that, I really do. Summers have a whole bunch of feelings wrapped up in them because some folks point to them and say teachers have it easy because they get paid to take the summer off. To say that is to ignore so much - some teachers work jobs in the summer to supplement a lower income, some teach summer school, some work at year round schools, and many of us have our pay checks spread over twelve months instead of ten, meaning we're not paid for this "time off." Whatever the case may be, I support teachers that don't want to go back a minute before they have to, that just isn't the case for me.
I love going in to my classroom to set it up slowly - an hour here or there when I feel like it. I love looking around the room and wondering what the upcoming school year will be like. I love wondering which class will be my chill one, which the funny class, etc. I wonder what books will be popular this year, what genres. The possibilities of what lies ahead is what gets me excited about going back.
My room is essentially ready, but I'll collaborate with colleagues several times before August 14th. Year twenty-nine is coming up and I cannot wait.
