It’s good because there isn’t a lot to clean.

I have a very small home, which is both a good and a bad thing. Inspired by retiring coworkers who had to clean out their classrooms as well as friends who are following a particular purging program, I’ve decided to do some major cleaning this summer. Since I have just one week to study Italian, I’m taking their “Super Inatensive” class, which means having lessons in the morning and afternoon. This year I’ll have only one week of study tacked on to the end of the doctorate class in Rome. Those of you who have been around for a while know that I’ve spent at least two weeks during each of the last two summers studying Italian in Italy. The second class will be a two-week course on educational leadership in multicultural schools. There’s an assignment due pretty much every day. The bad news is that it’s a semester-long class jammed into six weeks. The good news is that I don’t have to drive anywhere. It’s a six-week, online course on educational research. Here’s what’s on the agenda for this summer. So what does a teacher plan to do when she has “time off”?Īpparently, a lot of work! That’s what I plan to do! There’s no way you can possibly finish everything you plan to do. When you find out you’re going to have a very extended time off of work, you start to think about all the things you can get done, and soon your to-do list is so long, you’re sure you’ll fail miserably. I should feel excited and exhilarated.Īs the last few weeks of the school year were winding down, I found myself becoming increasingly anxious about the summer. I’ve never had a summer that has stretched from before Memorial Day to after Labor Day. Furthermore, the construction will last long enough that we won’t be able to start school again until after Labor Day. Thanks to construction plans, we started school early this past year, which means we got out early. I’m embarking on the longest summer I’ve ever known–and will probably ever know.

I thirst gina marinello sweeney