Fresh Summer Perspective

Let's talk about the fiction of the 9 month contract. Whenever friends and family members make that "Isn't it so cool that you don't have to work 3 months of the year" comment, I just roll my eyes. True, most days I don't have to fight commuter traffic, or be dressed and out of the house at a specific time, but there is rarely a day that some school work does not get done, and many days that are devoted entirely to school work -- when I'm not doing my summer job.

Perhaps part of the reason that teachers still have a hard time being viewed by the community as true professionals is that perception of "summers off". So many excellent teachers already spend their summers learning, preparing and creating for their students, but off the radar and on their own dime. Seems to me there needs to come a time, if this 9 month school cycle is to remain the norm, when teachers' summer time is openly acknowledged as that learning and preparing time that is vital to effective classroom practice. As much as students' "what I did this summer" fall essays, teachers need to be encouraged, and if paid, required, to share the fruits of their summer's intellectual labors.

In tough economic times, (or, let's be honest, ANY time) it's unpopular to suggest spending more on education, but if teacher excellence is the best indicator of success for students in school, doesn't it make sense to pay a summer stipend and require effective teacher learning and planning?? Isn't time the one thing that everyone cites as a stumbling block to school innovation, creativity, collaboration and change? Make it unnecessary for teachers to take on summer jobs, and pay them for the work that many of them know is essential for the success of their students. Just seems to make sense to me as I'm contemplating a long list of school work, and the necessity of putting in hours at my summer employment...