Now I’m off to the beach for a week. I hope you are sitting on some sand somewhere, even if it’s just in your mind. Now I understand why teachers need the summer off. Until you do it, you don’t know how hard teachers work, and how teachers keep pushing and pushing beyond exhaustion. We need some beach time to recuperate. We need some sleep.
When my kids came home from college after final exams they hit the bed and slept for two or three days, getting up for meals and showers. I feel kind-of the same way. I did get three nights of 8 hours this week, and that felt great.
So what did I do my first full day off from school? I spent a couple of hours looking at graduate programs. I finished my master’s degree, and celebrated that accomplishment. Thanks for your notes of congratulation. But as an older new teacher I don’t have that much time to waste. So I’m thinking of joining an administrator’s certification program. I don’t think I want to be a principal, or even a VP, but surely that certification would give me more options. If I am 47 now, will I want to be in the classroom for the rest of my working life? Or will I want to go in other directions?
I can also continue at the College of Notre Dame by entering the Ph.D. program. Perhaps you can tell me, if you’ve done it, if earning the doctorate was worth it. This program is seven years’ long, designed to be done while working full-time. Seven Years!!! But after all, if I don’t do it, I’ll still be 54 seven years from now (and without the Ph.D).
I’ll spend beach time thinking about this next step. Or maybe I’ll just table it in my mind until I get back. I’ll sleep on it.