Do you find the holidays hard???

[CaptainBrickbeard]

My Twitter feed this morning is full of advice on how to handle the transition to the holidays and teachers bemoaning how difficult they find the ‘lack of purpose’ and how much they miss the classroom. I am, frankly, agog. I have never struggled in the slightest to adjust! I often get ill in the first week or am extremely tired, but that’s not what the Edutwitter names are talking about and I’m finding it baffling and also a little irritating. The holidays give me a chance to indulge my interests, look after myself, spend relaxed time with my children and enjoy the break from stress, tension and pressure. I can’t imagine letting the job define me so much that I didn’t know what to do with myself in the summer - I will read, write, watch tv, go abroad...it’s like when people say they would stay in their job if they won the lottery because otherwise they’d get bored. I can’t understand it AT ALL.

I’m going to cherish this holiday because when we come back, the school is launching it’s new behaviour policy...no prizes for guessing which way they’ve decided to go.... I’m thinking that as a result, next year could be my last in the profession so this might be my last six week break! I’m certainly not going to mope about missing the classroom routine!

I like the holidays but like a couple of PPs I do have to be careful cos as someone with depression the lack of routine can become a problem. I mean I find it doubly depressing that I need the routine that I resent when I’m in it! So I love the time off but I do have to plan for it - and get up at a normal time cos it doesn’t take long for my sleep habits to become completely skewed!

If I didn't have the summer holiday, I wouldn't teach. So if I didn't enjoy the summer holiday, it would all be a bit pointless.
I love being off work, but with a teacher dh and small children, it's not as relaxing as the halcyon days of yore.

Now hang on a dog gone minute. Whenever people ask whether teaching really is as stressful as teachers claim people always site the long holidays as a mitigating factor only to be told that teachers work long hours in term time ( as I am sure you do ) and that school hols are actually not a break but a chance to set up classrooms, prep for next year etc etc and actually they slaving away 52 weeks of the year .

Nobody ever says that flapjackfairy

I'll spend a week in school at end of the holidays. I'm doing some curriculum things in the evenings.

But I too wouldn't teach if the holidays went. The fact I spend real quality time with my own kids is massively important to me, especially as terms are manic.

@Allthebiscuits.
Actually I have seen people more or less claiming that. They get v defensive when people suggest that at least teachers get good holidays to offset their stressful jobs unlike other professions.
This thread is confirming that to be the case . That is all I am saying . I am well aware that teachers work v hard and they deserve the breaks for what it's worth so have a good summer one and all.

Have you considered that different teachers do different amounts of work in the holidays? Primary teachers in particular seem to have a lot of classroom set-up to do.

I’ve got some to do this holiday as I’m moving buildings.

I’ve got more work than usual to do this summer but I have had six weeks completely clear of work in the past. I know other teachers who have to work a lot in the summer holidays. I certainly have to work through a certain amount of half term breaks. It depends on your role and for school.

I’m really not interested in a race to the bottom with other professions though. I’ve always agreed that the holidays are a perk of the job. I will remind you, flapjack, that we aren’t paid for all of them though!

I work like a maniac in term time, in order to largely avoid working in the holidays.

I get what PPs have said about the pressure to do shitty household tasks in the holiday because there isn’t time in term time to do anything related to LIFE.
House needs a bloody good clear out and declutter, so I have vowed to do 30 mins a day on the days that we are home. You’d think that would be hopeless, wouldn’t you? But it’s working a treat. I don’t mind doing half an hour and am very focused/decisive. 30 minutes then back to sofa and biscuits

I think that’s a great strategy likeafish! I never get started on major household tasks but I can always bring myself to do one small job and bit by bit, the house gets (sort of) better!

This is my first official day and, as excited as I am that I have a nice long summer ahead of me, I am a bit daunted. I’m in my 30s, single and sadly have no children and most of my friends do. I don’t really have anyone to meet up with over the summer and no real exciting plans to look forward to. I’m just going to work on myself a bit but I’d love to have some places to go and someone to do things do. Being off for this long just draws attention to how empty my life is. At the moment it’s looking like cooking, reading and Netflix are going to help me through.

To do things “with” not do?!

Do you have a flat/house to do things to? I spent about ten years teaching before having dc and I cannot now imagine how I spent my days. I'm sure long lies and afternoon movies played a part! And I've never minded travelling alone.
Sometimes refereeing between my dc is no more peaceful than bringing peace to disruptive teenagers at work.
Grass is always greener!

Actually I have seen people more or less claiming that, i.e. not claiming it. Never seen it, ever in 40+ years of teaching and reading about teaching. It's just you, flapjackfairy.

I squeeze all of my social life in to the holidays. Twitter teachers are a unique breed, I will never be one of them.

@Mistressiggi My house doesn’t need any work done at all but I could do some decluttering.

I’d be very glad to have children of my own to referee to be honest. Being childless and likely to remain so is a great source of pain, but this isn’t a thread about that.

I appreciate your ideas. I’d travel but I’m waiting on an appointment date coming through which means I can’t plan anything/leave the local area. It’s a shame because a Spanish friend had invited me to stay with her (she’s also a teacher!). Hopefully if it all works out, a last minute holiday may be on the cards. My hobbies have all stopped for the summer too . Looks like it’s some quiet time that’s on the cards. I like to keep busy and I’m usually stressed so maybe it’s just what I need.

The 'Back to School' displays in shops won't bother me this year, I won't feel the need to do a mental countdown of the number of long lies I have left and I won't be visiting either Tiger or Kid's Ikea to buy resources, because I'm not going back in September. Nor is there any chance of me getting bored, at any point, ever. Kindle is full of new reads, garden needs work, I've bought myself a bike and booked a holiday abroad when the schools go back. I think breaking up the day into reading/writing/gardening/housework/exercise/socialising chunks should stave off any feelings of boredom quite nicely. Sort of pomodoro for retirement.

Oh I know Eleanor I didn't mean to be insensitive. It's the first year I haven't been able to have a trip to my parents (both gone now) and I'm really feeling the absence of that. I think longer holidays like we have do lend themselves to introspection which isn't always the route to happiness!
(I should add I'm already over half way through my holidays here so more fed up than I would be at the start!)

I used to get a bit bored as a young teacher without a husband and children. Now that I have those I am not bored! Busy all day and then alternating relaxing evenings with planning and other crap evenings. One day a week in school with the children in paid for childcare. Definitely not bored!

Yes,my house is a sty.

Kids have mucked out their rooms and we've taken lots of lovely but unused toys to charity shop today.

I've finally glossed the skirting boards in our room. I painted it over a year ago. Shameful.

Kids have had haircuts and we shave dentists appointments.

Summer is definitely catch-up time!!! I'm never bored, I'm too busy doing stuff I should've done ages ago....

I’ve had two weeks off and it took me a week to get into a bit of a rhythm for the holidays. I’ve had the carpets cleaned, ordered new vinyl for the bathroom, cleared out the airing cupboard, started doing some volunteer dog walking, gardened and read a bunch of books. Away in a week or two. 14 year old isn’t too bad to entertain and dh is still working normal hours.
I also need some sort of routine and work that is productive - hence all the household stuff. I do turn into more of a traditional housewife in the holidays too.

I find it hard! Although I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me when I have 6 weeks off!

I usually have projects on the go, and obviously fit in all the usual dentist appointments and everything. But this year I'm moving house (at some point) so didn'f plan a holiday, and can't really start a DIY project or anything. I went away last weekend, and then yesterday watched the whole of The Boys on Amazon and ate chocolates the kids gave me :p

I would much rather they did that whole 'five terms' thing that gets brought up every few years. The same holidays, but spread more evenly. And shorter terms!

Same! I wouldn't want less holidays but I find 6 weeks at once incredibly hard. I've got depression and there's nothing like having to be in performance mode in front of 30 kids to lift me out of despair. In the holidays I don't have that and today I've been fighting suicidal thoughts all day. Normally they don't appear until the last week of the holidays so they've arrived early this year! Feeling a bit brighter this evening but every day is a struggle with the weeks stretching out ahead of me. More regular one or two week breaks would suit me down to the ground.

@ValancyRedfern I hope you are feeling OK now?
How does anyone else deal with partners who are in work? I know it sounds awful as he only gets 4 weeks a year, but because he works from home a lot and is up at 7 every day, I feel obliged to get up then too I want to stay in bed and relax but feel guilty even though in term time he will be watching TV when I'm sat working.