Vacation Station

Well, you made it!  Either you are about to enjoy a long weekend in honor of Presidents Past or you are about to settle into a glorious whole week of winter break.  Aaaahhhhh!  (My apologies in advance to those of you who lost vacation days due to a hideous number of snow days.  But I’m thinking that maybe you’re dying to be back IN your classrooms and are desperately trying to get caught up…my heart goes out to you.)

Do you know one of the things I miss most about being in the classroom?  Besides my friends of course, who I am missing quite a bit these days.  Ironically, for someone who misses their little faces so much,  I also miss that second after the last friend has been dismissed and the last errant sweater has been retrieved from the classroom.  That second where you walk back upstairs to your classroom and feel free as a bird!  You walk down the hall to cheers erupting from various classrooms as other colleagues celebrate making it through the last few ridiculously hard weeks.  Maybe there is a moderate amount of adult high-fiving…it really depends on your school.

Most teachers return to their classrooms after this Walk of Glory and have two reactions.

Some teachers dash around like crazy people, gathering up piles of To Dos and straightening up a bit before running, LITERALLY RUNNING out the door to get ahead of traffic/catch the early train.  They may or may not get their enormous Teacher Bags stuck in doors and/or have been known accidentally take out a kid or two in the process.  These teachers want to get the hell out of Dodge.  (I never really understood that phrase, but I think it fits nicely here.  Although I’m unsure about capitalizing the word Dodge…)  I imagine that these teachers are heading directly to some sort of happy hour.  No stopping at Go, no collecting $200, just straight to the bar.

Other teachers saunter into their rooms, luxuriating in the idea that they can get everything done before they walk out the door, leaving their rooms uber-prepared for the return of those people who are constantly making a mess of the classroom the children.  They can be seen happily crossing things off their To Do Lists and packing a modest pile of work to bring home with them.  (Because no matter which type of teacher you are, you almost NEVER go home with an empty bag.  Now, that doesn’t mean we actually TOUCH what is in our bags, but that is another post for another day.)  I always worry a bit for this teacher because, after a vacation in which rooms are usually “deep cleaned”, you never know what condition your classroom will be in when you return.  Coming back to total disarray can certainly ruin your Post Vacation Buzz, but I digress.

I have been both of those teachers.  I guess it really depends on the week you’ve had leading up to said break.  Either way, who cares, YOU’VE GOT A DAY (OR FIVE) OFF!

Oh and have a drink for me.  I miss them.

P.S. And don’t forget that Teach Hub is giving away $100 gift certificates for spa days (click here and scroll down)….could be a hot way to maintain that positive attitude…

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9 Comments
  • Hooray for vacation! We're actually back for the long haul (spring semester is dreadfully long), but we do get Monday off (hooray!).

    I am TOTALLY one of those teachers that bring something home everyday, but doesn't necessarily touch it. At least I thought about getting work done.

    February 12, 2010 at 11:33 pm
  • I have just two things to say about this post.

    1. We work Monday as a make up day for losing all those days to the snow.

    2. You make me feel old…the fact that you don't know what "get out of Dodge" means – Oy. Below is the entry from the Urban Dictionary. Now, this is a direct quote…misspelling and all and please, if you don't know what Gunsmoke is, don't tell me.

    "Get the hell out of Dodge" is a reference to Dodge City, Kansas, which was a favorite location for westerns in the early to mid 20th century. Most memorably, the phrase was made famous by the TV show "Gunsmoke," in which villians were often commanded to "get the hell out of Dodge." The phrase took on its current meaning in the 1960s and 70s when teenagers began to use it in its current form."

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=get%20the%20hell%20out%20of%20dodge

    February 12, 2010 at 11:33 pm
  • It's from Dodge City, Kansas, so your instinct was right.

    This year the last day before vacation was also, of course, Valentine's parties, adding some not-at-all-needed SUGAR to the mix!

    February 12, 2010 at 11:33 pm
  • Thanks cascadingwaters and Stu – I have learned. Also Stu- I have heard of Gunsmoke and you are not old. 🙂

    February 12, 2010 at 11:34 pm
  • What is this "deep cleaning" of which you speak? 🙂

    I'm really lucky if I get my room vacuumed over the break and my carpet cleaned over the summer. That's the only cleaning that is done beyond what I do. I keep a vase full of swiffer dusters by the useless ginormous tv in my room. Kids love to dust with those things! (the dusters, not the useless ginormous tv)

    February 13, 2010 at 3:17 pm
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    February 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm
  • We were supposed to have a four-day weekend, but thanks to all the snow, I am now halfway through a seven-day break. (If I'd known I was getting a whole week off, I would've made plans to go somewhere warm!) It's a little surreal.

    Until last year, I was one of the teachers who stayed and cleaned up. Last year was so horrible that I couldn't wait to get out of there so I'd grab my stuff and go. I love my class this year, but the habit has carried over anyway. Thankfully I grabbed their reading tests before leaving on Tuesday or I'd have absolutely no schoolwork with me to get done! (Which I haven't done yet, anyway. 😉

    February 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm
  • I'm jealous. I think winter break must be an east coast thing. We came back Jan. 3 and won't see the light of vacay until March 26 at 3:45 PM. Brutal.

    February 14, 2010 at 1:38 pm
  • I'm in California. I have a 4 day weekend but my son (different district) has this week off…out here they call it ski week. It varies from district to district.

    February 14, 2010 at 7:03 pm

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