How Traveling in Summer Made Me a Better Teacher

Discover why this teacher skips summer side gigs to travel across the country with a toddler in tow. From the Ford Museum to indie bookstores, see how exploring fuels creativity and brings fresh ideas back to the classroom.

My Summers

Since we don’t get paid as much, many teachers work secondary jobs during the summer. I have admittedly tried holding down a second job both during the school year, and during summer. Finally, I stopped trying since I struggled so much with it despite the financial setback. I find that I need a mental break. Teaching kids is exhaustive. Don’t get me wrong, it is absolutely worthwhile, but I struggle with the mental load.

By the time summer rolls around, I need to recharge. I also need the opportunity to create. In the day to day grind of teaching, I struggle with creativity. At the beginning of a school year, I have so many cool ideas and I have the energy to try new things. By the second half of the year, I find that I am leaning on old tricks verses trying anything new.

That is why I decided to travel during the summers. I leave on the last teacher day, and I don’t come back until the first teacher day of the next year. Even with the struggled of having a toddler in tow, it works for me. Since I have started taking my summers off 8 years ago, I have become a better teacher.

You may think that is a crazy idea, but hear me out.

The Ford Museum – A Little Muse

In 2019 I managed to go to Michigan. I went to the Ford Museum, which was incredible. I loved looking at all the classic cars, and seeing the historical buildings outside. While I was at the Ford Museum, they had a special exhibit on Star Trek. In a little corner, there was a section that talked about the formula of writing. It went through the process of creating an episode of Star Trek. It had wheels you could turn to create your own episode.

Standing in front of this exhibit gave me a great idea for my own class. I developed a lesson plan on formula writing using TV shows, and had kids develop their own episodes of their favorite TV shows (The Vampire Diaries ones were so great; there was always a death by remorseful vampire scene.). I would never have developed those creative lessons if I hadn’t travel to the Ford Museum.

Artists Wanted

All artists need a muse. And teachers are artists in a classroom. They can make a boring subject fly off the pages. But if they have no time to create, and are uninspired and can’t create, we lose the opportunity for a better teacher. That is why I advocate travel for teachers, and exploring the globe. You never know when you might stumble on that perfect thing to create a lesson plan. For me, it was a Star Trek exhibit. What will it be for you?

My Posts for all my Muses