TeachedUp Comics: Peace, Be Still!

From Collection 6 - Year Two, "Summer Help and Some Aren't"

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two teachers are out fishing and crabbing on a dock saying how non-teachers will never understand how hard they have it despite having summers off

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It's the age-old point everyone makes: "Yes, but you have Summers off!" I agree - having a couple of months "off" each year is a pretty penny. However, it takes a lot of planning and practice to make good use of this time off and not just using it to recover, apply for other work, or do what I did (fill it in with contractual work - from pouring concrete to designing and delivering course content!)

In reality, most teachers use the time in the Summer to prepare for the upcoming school year (always trying to "get ahead," even if the advantage only gets them through til Winter!) This is also the time teachers complete professional development (to keep up their certifications), pursue higher education more intensely, and otherwise contribute to the profession. I do think that an educator who learns to use their time off for personal well-being will be a more resilient professional who maintains career longevity (not easy). It is only up until recently that I began to really use any time off to a more full (I won't say "maximum") effect. My time as a Vice President of Product for a prominent Training SaaS company opened my eyes to many possibilities, and I owe my entry into the professional voiceacting and spokesperson "freelance business" arena to that experience - not to mention an elevated and more purposeful educational consultant status. (Educators a too deeply entrenched in "traditional work" and a need for stability and predictability to easily take on the risk of stepping out into less traditional forms of paying-the-bills and thriving -- but that's another comic for another day).

Anyway, in this comic, we first see a dock introduced, and Bob and Pepp apparently got together for some fishing and crabbing (that's what Anthony Culpepper's doing, if you couldn't tell). I hope they're enjoying themselves, those poor saps. *wink*

Have you ever had Summers off? Did you / Do you know how to leverage them to your advantage? Tell me about it in the TeachedUp Comics Fan Club!