For many of you, the end-of-year checklists are checked, the rooms are packed, and the classroom keys are out of sight (and ideally, out of mind). You’ve made the shift.
Teacher You—the one who answers 137 questions before lunch, knows every kid’s snack allergy by heart, and can spot a forgotten folder from across the playground—has stepped aside.
In their place? Summer You.
You read books with no sticky notes or highlighters in hand. You drink actual warm coffee without standing in front of a copier. You stroll through Target without automatically heading to the school supply aisle. (Well... almost.)
But here’s the thing no one talks about: Teacher You never really disappears. You’re just resting. Sleeping in. Recharging. Reconnecting with the parts of yourself that don’t run on bells and announcements. Because that version of you—the one who shows up every single day with creativity, compassion, and resilience—isn’t just who you are in a classroom. It’s who you are, period.
So yes, lean fully into Summer You. Keep sleeping in. Keep laughing without lesson plans. Keep saying yes to one more chapter, one more scoop of your favorite flavor, one more slow afternoon.
And remember, you don’t have to flip a switch when August rolls in. You don’t have to leave all of Summer You behind when the lanyard goes back on. The best teachers aren’t one or the other. You’re a bit of both . . . Rested and ready. Rooted and renewed.
So enjoy the quiet. Embrace the freedom. And give yourself space to breathe.
That breath? It’s what brings the magic back in the fall.
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