I’ve touched upon this subject before: students pulled out of school for family vacations. The last time I mentioned it, I was on the verge of actually doing it myself. This time, we are on the verge of the week when it seems to happen most, Thanksgiving week. Already, most teachers are looking at three…
Vacation
The Best-Laid Plans of Teachers on Vacation
A teacher friend of mine recently saw her summer plans implode like a tinfoil submarine at 20,000 leagues. I ran into her after she’d spent three solid days on the phone in a near panic. The look on her face made me think she had just completed her first triathlon by walking on her hands…
Where’s that kid going this time?
We’ve all had them. We’ve all managed to deal with it. Maybe you shook your head and thought, “There goes one kid who really needs to be in school everyday.” Or maybe you were envious and thought, “I wish I could take a few unexpected days off too and still come back sharp and ready…
Surviving the Marathon
As an upper grades teacher, February was always when I came to the conclusion that school planners had done at least one thing right: back-loading vacations. As the year dragged on, I realized that February break and April break and the assorted holidays in between were timed perfectly to help me stay evenly keeled. If…