What Summer Means to a Teacher

Listen, I know that I am different from other people. During a global pendejo, I did landscaping and built a flagstone patio in my backyard. I read articles online about how we should not put pressure on ourselves to DO SOMETHING with the time we are given, that survival is enough, and so on.

I read those articles and thought, “That’s not me.” I have to do something. I have to be busy.

The last two summers (summer starts for me the hour that school is out, even though it’s still technically springtime) I started my summer by doing online classes for salary advancement. We had just had a successful teacher strike here in Denver in 2019, and I wanted to get to the top of the salary schedule as soon as possible. In the summer of 2019, I finished those classes and submitted them for salary advancement. Step 1 was done.

Last spring, I started more classes for salary advancement. I took them all online, and gave myself the spring semester to finish. I wanted to finish by the end of the semester, but I needed the first week of summer break to finish. I set a timer for 2 hours per day, made the browser window full screen, and focused. I busted those credits out, and finished.

Those were the last credits I had to take to get to the top. I was officially topped out on the salary schedule.

Through luck and doing all that we could, my household made it through to vaccination. None of us got COVID-19; we all survived.

This current summer means I will not take freedom for granted. I don’t have to take classes ever again, if I don’t want to. We are going to travel by plane to see my dad, and take a little vacation. We are NOT going to be filled with constant worry or overwhelming feelings of dread for seemingly no goddamn reason. I’m going to work on my book every day, a little at a time, and finally get it done. DONE.

I know I can, because that’s how I built my patio last year.