"Welcome back to school!" is truly a welcome sign for my girls. They get excited about the new school supplies, clothes shopping, and backpacks. They enjoy seeing their friends every day. The routine of it is also nice to have back. (Let's be honest, the Western school setup is geared towards girls. I will write more on that later.) My girls love school.
BUT they start August 7th this year!
Craziness.
And they are not too thrilled about that fact.
As a teacher, however, every year I drag my feet a little. Mostly because I'm not ready for the chaos that is my mornings. I feel rushed to get out the door on time. And I also do not love to grade papers. BUT I love my students, I love developing a classroom community, I love the content I teach. Teaching is my calling. Still, August hits harder every year.
In every district I've taught, I've tried (to no avail) to change early start dates. Sigh, like many things, teachers have little say in the matter. We can give input, but I have yet to have an admin concede in this area even though every.single.teacher I've ever talked to agrees with me.
Everywhere I've lived, August is the hottest month, with May being much cooler. I'd rather start later and go through May, thus starting summer break later in May.
When I didn't do the hybrid situation we are currently pursuing, this was possible as a homeschool teacher, and it was glorious. We started after Labor Day and ended the third week of May. (Yes, we did complete 180 school days, got in two weeks for Christmas break, a week for Easter, and so forth!) The only con - everyone kept asking our girls, "Why aren't you in school?!"
Sigh.
But now that we homeschool, with our girls attending public school for a core class, band, and extracurriculars, we are under the confines of their schedule.
Again, sigh. But once the ball is rolling, we love the experience this hybrid option gives us as a family.
The reality is that there are always pros and cons to every choice.
What pros and cons are you running into as you dive back into school? Let me know in the comments!
