It only really occurred to me as I was getting up this morning that today is the last day of my "summer break," as I start teaching tomorrow. I don't know if I can really use those words to describe teachers, though; I mean, at the age me and my students are at, of course breaks from school aren't the same as they are for younger children because of the responsibilities of jobs and the like (in my case the freelance writing I was doing after graduation). In the future I actually hope to teach over the summer, if I can get some of the few summer teaching jobs that there are around here. Still, though, there is something about the summer that makes one yearn for the days when summer meant a total lack of any responsibilities, and I doubt that the allure of those days ever fade, even if you're lucky enough to find a job that you love.
For some reason I got to thinking about summer reading earlier today. I actually had summer reading the summer before I went to Antioch -- I had to read a book then write a paper on it as a diagnostic for my writing skills -- but I guess summer reading, for me, will always be tied to the private school I went to. My junior high and high school years there were bad enough, but in terms of English teachers I had one okay teacher and a slew of really, really bad ones. That may be why I kind of moved away from English when I was younger, only to rediscover my love of it several years later. I loathed summer reading, and usually put it off until the last minute -- one year this meant speeding through Jane Eyre -- and never did that well on the invariable first-day-back quiz we always got. As much as I love English, I don't think summer reading is a good thing for anyone; break is supposed to be break, let the kids have their time off and don't give them a reminder of "lifelong learning," they'll get that soon enough.
I'm not really all that nervous about tomorrow. I have a feeling that I should be, because even though I've taught before, the circumstances here are much different (community college versus university, Michigan versus Ohio, Comp II versus Comp I). I have never had that much confidence in myself, but I am an excellent teacher, and these students I'm about to see for the first time tomorrow are going to get the best education I can possibly give them. Maybe they won't go for it, or maybe the college won't like the way I teach, but I'll cross those bridges if I ever come to them. For now, I'd just like to put the final touches on my handouts and get a good night's rest in preparation for class tomorrow. I know my students probably won't be as enthusiastic about the start of class as I am, but I'll keep things toned down because, believe me, I remember that feeling all too well.