Mission

Bibliophiliac is the space where one passionate, voracious reader reflects on books and the reading life. You will find reviews, analysis, links, and reflections on poetry and prose both in and out of the mainstream.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Summer

At long last, summer.

This past week I wrapped up my school year. Monday morning grades were due, then we had the traditional  "teacher check out day" where teachers wander the building handing in materials, satisfying deadlines, and getting signatures from everyone from the librarian to the keeper of the keys. It was a weird day, because there were students in the building...school was cancelled on Friday due to a tropical storm that never really hit us (the weather was worse on Thursday), and so our make-up day was the same day as the teacher check-out day. Only a handful of students showed up, but I had a dedicated student helper who made my last day so much easier! (Thanks, Alexandra!). She boxed up books for me, returned items and ran errands, and generally was truly helpful. Plus, we kept up a steady chatter that was not too distracting but very pleasant. It helped that my husband had come in to school with me on Sunday and done the bulk of the work in packing up my classroom for the summer. I don't know how any teacher would do all this alone.

One of the things I love about teaching is that it is cyclical. I love the fact that I get a do-over every year. Do you ever feel regret/remorse for not doing some part of your work as well as you wished? When you are a teacher, you get a clean slate and a fresh start with every school year. And I love the planning part of teaching; right now my brain is very busy reassessing everything I did this year, reflecting on what I could have done better, and starting to plan for next year. In fact, I find this is the best time to do my planning for the next school year. After Monday, I spent the rest of the week in professional development, working on the curriculum map and assessments for my district.

Now, however, I am more or less free (as long as I don't check my school e-mail!). I can't wait to spend time with my family, take care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and read, read, read. I will have time to see to some neglected medical issues, get back to my yoga mat in a serious way, and read to my heart's delight--whatever I like! Later in the summer I will spend six days in an Advanced Writing Project.

My biggest goals for the summer: restore myself mentally and spiritually. Teaching can be demanding and spiritually draining. I plan to write every day, get to yoga class at least once a week, and take care of myself physically. I always seem to make the same mistake: as the school year goes on, I pay less and less attention to my health. Now I have some doctor's appointments, and I hope I can get myself very healthy by the time school starts again in mid-August.

I have a ton of posts and reviews to write (I'm way behind on reviews of the classics I've been reading). My shelves are groaning with wonderful books I'm excited to read. Right now I'm reading Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird (for the second time) and I'm about to start Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Today I picked up We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver (since I liked Big Brother so much). And I am really excited that David Rhodes has a new novel out. You'd better believe I already have Jewelweed ready to go. Then I'll be continuing my Game of Thrones obsession with A Clash of Kings.

If I get tired of reading I can always go to the beach. After all I do live on an island. Yes, life is good.

What does your summer look like? Do you have your summer books lined up?

12 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I hope you have a wonderful summer!

bibliophiliac said...

@bermudaonion--thanks! I'm really looking forward to it!

The Relentless Reader said...

Stay away from that school email! ;)

What a great idea to spend the summer working on YOU! Best wishes!

stujallen said...

have a good summer Lisa ,all the best stu

bibliophiliac said...

@stu-thanks stu! hope you get a holiday yourself. happy reading!

bibliophiliac said...

@Jennifer-it's what I say every year, but this time I really mean it! :)

Judith said...

Oh, gosh, I recognize myself in this post of yours. Yes--at the end of the semester or summer session, I review what went right, what went wrong, and how I could tweak things so that what went wrong goes much better "next time."

I make plans, yes. The teacher brain does not go into "rest" mode all at once.

I like the sounds of your summer!
Mine will include lots of nature adventures on land and water (lakes and rivers).
Reading, absolutely!
Writing--lots of writing.
And I hope I can get into doing some art.

My summer starts Wednesday afternoon. Can I make it till then?

Looking forward to your posts as you live your summer dreams!

Judith

bibliophiliac said...

@Judith-your summer plans sound great! I'll be looking forward to your posts!

Lisa said...

Enjoy your summer break - recharge, relax, reassess and read!

bibliophiliac said...

@Lisa-thanks!

Frances said...

It is so funny that those of us in education all seek to recharge this time of year, to read, to get to yoga. And then within a month we will begin to itch to plan and get back into the classroom. We are privileged to work in the field we do, to have such passion for our work. I feel lucky as I'm sure you do from all you've said. I'll think of you as I work my way through my own neglected reading and blog. :) Happy summer!

bibliophiliac said...

@Frances-what other career allows you to start over from scratch every year? I love the reflective part of teaching. I know I would be bored silly in most other jobs. But I also love the fact that I get this time off to recharge and reassess. Oh, yeah, and relax :)