How to Embrace the End of the School Year and Invest in Summer

Hey, Teachers!

By June, many of us are depleted to some degree and ready to wrap up instruction and assessment. We've given our all this school year. Hats off to you for putting your best foot forward and navigating hardships and challenges that come with the territory of good teaching practice. 2025 has brought changes to K-12 education, including the integration of new policies and mandates and an increasingly growing AI landscape permeating how, why, and what we teach.

As teachers, it's easy to slip into the pitfalls of "negative self-talk" that diminish our self-image, self-worth, and true contributions to the educational field. We're always looking for ways to do better, and to best meet the individual needs of students. And that takes time, perseverance, and grit.

We don't always hear about the "job well done" from others, but we know what went on behind-the-scenes! If "all the world's a stage" (Shakespeare), our performance during the school year likely required adaptation, intuition, and a burgeoning desire to exceed expectations to create a flourishing and thriving classroom environment.

But you know as well as I do that the yearlong "performance" centers on determination, preparation, and mental and emotional stamina...We consistently modify our roles and lines in the play because it's not scripted. It's about human heart, care and concern, and bridging gaps between course outcomes and student inquiry, and student readiness and willingness to build upon skills and engage in the process.

At the close of 2024-25, we may be wondering what truly defines success in the classroom. Maybe we felt we fell short in one area or another, or we attempted new procedural knowledge and the outcomes weren't so grand as we'd hoped. Maybe we believe we didn't reach a certain group of students to the best of our ability.

Following are 3 reminders for self-preservation and positive self-talk (not "toxic positivity"--but real inner dialogue that supports a strong teacher self-image).

Going into summer break (especially if some of us are teaching online or teaching summer school the next few months), what we tell ourselves and how we think about our "wins" as educators can set the stage for the fall.

1. Write down and articulate what you did well this school year that may or may not have been on the final performance evaluation. Highlighting our positive contributions to students, the classroom, the school, and our community is essential. This is how we truly measure our productivity and accomplishments. What roadblock did we effectively dodge? What mistake last year did we not repeat this year? Who seemed unreachable but became the star student from our view? Who thanked us for things we didn't even realize we were doing well?

Create a keepsake box (literal, symbolic, virtual) to house the "good stuff" and memories from this year.

2. Acknowledge any shortcomings in best practices and map out the key must-haves in your roadmap for Fall '25. Although it's important to recognize where we can improve in instruction and assessment and in interpersonal connectivity, staying in the "I need to do better" space can be detrimental if we ruminate over mistakes or feel unsuccessful as teachers as our overarching sentiment for too long. We're human beings. We can always improve in many areas of life, but something teachers tend to do is focus on these areas to the point of diminishing self-efficacy and positivity in how we think of ourselves as educators. We can't let the "I'm not good enough" voice take center stage.

Accept shortcomings and mistakes and learn from them, but reignite your enthusiasm for the teaching and learning space before August hits by focusing on what you're excited to try or implement.

3. Be intentional about downtime and personal growth and happiness over these next three months. Many of us work through the summer, have obligations outside of teaching and other commitments that consume our time and energy, and may already feel like the summer is "booked". Some of this might be 100% recreation like that long-awaited cruise or family vacation. Or maybe we're looking forward to a relaxing stay-cation. And maybe we're completing course work for an advanced degree to get ahead. But what we put into summer that is completely and solely about us (not teaching) can also set the stage for how we go into the upcoming school year. The more we fill ourselves up with what we love doing, things that define who we are individually, and enjoyment in the living experience, the more we might have to give and share when the new school year begins.

Create a non-negotiable list that's about you. It might be small depending on the demands of summer, but you don't need a big budget to fit yourself in harmoniously. What we need to remember is just that: fitting ourselves in. The more we practice this habit, the more it might stick around while we're in the thickets and throes of the next school year, whatever it may bring.

Summer to me has always been about decompression from the last 10 months, reflection on who I am and how I continue to grow personally and professionally, and goal-setting related to my purpose on this planet.

Summer can be a springboard for greater success in the coming school year, if we emphasize the things that will keep us grounded, energized, and hopeful in a time in education when we may feel more uncertain and concerned.

The next three months can be powerful if you're creative about how you approach them.