A Teacher’s Thoughts

April vacation is here. With it came the first sunny and truly warm days of spring. Outside my house, the lilies and other perenials are poking above the mulch. The plans for the week include field trips to the beach, Grammies house, friends houses, and the children’s museum for my wife and son. For me the plan is the kitchen. Rip it out and put it back together before school starts again next Monday.

Of the teachers I know, it is rare to find one who doesn’t work at least one other job during the year. Part-time employment is a given part of the financial picture for many educators. For new teachers, meeting the demands of housing, transportation and student loans on a starting teacher’s salary propels many to a variety of part-time jobs. More experienced teachers, of course bring in a bigger paycheck. The problem is that for many the earlier part-time work became an integral part of the financial picture which is now difficult to give up.

And so it is for me. In addition to a variety of self-employed part-time jobs I do, our house is more of a project than a home. When the last of the renovation plan is completed I will call the realtor. When I explain our house, most people feel somehow saddened. “But you put in so much work…” Sure, but think of the hours I have put into students in my class. Come June they will be on their way. Of course, my wife and I knew going into this that we would be selling as soon as possible. The loss is not that I give up all of my hard work but that I miss out on feeling like this is a home. But both my students and my house, when they leave me, will carry the changes that I have made possible. Perhaps those who have them next can add on to the work I have done.