If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had

different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job. Donald D. Quinn

Today marks my first official week of summer vacation.  Reading Quinn’s quote, I’m reminded that, in addition to throwing off the albatross of grading, I’m not spending over seven hours a day, five days a week, with 125-150 teenagers. Not interacting with 125+ adolescent personalities on a daily basis is a tremendous stress reducer.

Summer…how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. . .

• No lesson plans.
• No lunch duty.
• No meetings.
• No grading.
• No bells ringing.
• No parent conferences.
• No parent emails.
• No wondering what I’m going to wear that will allow me to pick up anything I drop on the floor without risking a sexual harassment violation.
• No inhaling lunch to give myself time to dash to the bathroom before the 30 minutes have passed.
• No copies to make.
• No prayers that the copiers are not out of toner, jammed, or otherwise cranky.
• No standing in line to use the copy machines.
• No repeating every hour between classes to kids in the mall, “Where’s your ID?”
• Did I mention no grading?

What makes your vacation a vacation?