Friday, November 04, 2005

Love my job - Love my time off

I'm a reading specialist, and I love my job. I truly do. I enjoy being at my school, and I enjoy working with children. I love that I'm able to read lots of children's literature. I love that I no longer have to deal with the stress of grading papers, report cards, and all-day responsibility for a classroom of children. I love it when a kindergartener grabs my hand as we walk down the hall towards my classroom, and I love it when I can joke around with fifth graders as we discuss a book. I love being able to work with children on all grade levels. Most of all, I love that I sometimes make a profound difference in a child's life.

Despite all that love, I live for the weekends. Every Friday afternoon, the possibilities of the weekend stretch out before me. I anticipate whatever I have planned. Then when Sunday evening gets here, I feel sad that the weekend is over and another work week is beginning.

Despite all that love, I rarely get to school before I have to, and each afternoon I leave as soon as I possibly can. I don't spend a single minute at school beyond what is needed to do my job well.

Despite all that love, I agree with the quip that the three best reasons for being a teacher are June, July, and August. (Note: Although with new scheduling, August really isn't part of the summer break anymore, and teachers aren't paid for those months off work.)

Is it contradictory to love a job so much and still anticipate getting away from it?

1 comment:

Joan said...

In answer to your question -- ABSOLUTELY! I did it for many years.