When asked, students give a myriad of responses to the question, “What do teachers do over the summer?” Some students believe that teachers are “locked in supply closets.” Others think that they stay around and plot evil for their students. I interviewed a few teachers here at Nashoba to get a better idea of how teachers actually spend their free time.

Ms. Snediker, from the history department, said that she “plan[s] to soak up lots of sun at the beach…and to relax and enjoy my free time. There are no plans to create more torture for my students next fall.” That’s certainly reassuring!

Next, Mrs. Hoover, an English teacher here at Nashoba, told me some more reassuring news. “Catch up on sleep, spend quality time with [my] family, many of us [teachers] take classes ourselves…. I do a lot of reading. This year I’m going to do a lot of travelling with my husband….. closer to the end of the summer I start planning for next year.” Although she does plan on doing some planning, I am confident that she will not devise anything too sinister.

I wasn’t so confident that I would find the same reassurances in the science department; fortunately, Mr. Tollefson was able to assuage my fears. “Some stuff deals with fixing up the house,” said Mr. Tollefson. “Also, [I] plan on going hiking in the white mountains, the Berkshires, over the summer….. Possibly take a trip to the Midwest.”

The math department also provided a cheery smile and a surprising lack of evil. Although Ms. Egan told me that plotting evil “sounded like fun” she also said that “its not anywhere near what I usually do.” She “usually works and lifeguards. This summer…[she] has … a week long seminar full of courses.”

Finally, Mrs. O’Donnell assured me that even at the upper levels of administration, no evil is plotted. “I’m going to Nova Scotia. then I have a lot of work priorities. I’m taking an English language immersion class to help support ELL learners.” The lesson to be learned from all of this is that teachers are, in reality, people too.

Picture courtesy of teacherhub.com