For educators, “summer vacation” is a misnomer. Yes, I know most of us get time off, and I relish it. But the idea that educators leave their offices in June and don't return until Labor Day is ludicrous. Every teacher and principal I know spends countless hours over the summer reviewing the recently completed school year, preparing lessons for the coming school year, attending meetings, or participating in a university class or workshop.
Still, summer has its advantages. I am always delighted to dress a bit more casually and come in a tad later. Because the work pace isn't as hectic after mid-June, I can seize time to do things that I wasn't able to accomplish during the regular school year. This summer, I hope to finish our parent handbook, the same one that I began last June.
Home-Grown Professional Growth
Summer also offers an opportunity to support my faculty's professional growth—and my own. And although traveling, hearing from experts, and sitting next to someone new who looks at things differently is valuable, that's not the only way to learn. Every summer at New City School, we offer a workshop or two led by our faculty members. We pay both participating and presenting teachers $100 each day for attending. Our teachers have conducted workshops on using the writing process, developing a curriculum scope and sequence, and implementing new texts or curriculums that the school has adopted.
This in-house approach offers unique advantages. The best way to learn something is to teach it. There is great merit in faculty members learning with and from one another, which is Roland Barth's definition of collegiality. The content of the workshops always fits our school's particular needs. And the fact that it's “just us” allows the dialogue to be more focused and relevant.
The Benefits of Book Clubs
But my favorite summer activity is our faculty book club. I launched this activity in 1988 after reading Howard Gardner's book Frames of Mind. I thought this book had implications for our school's pedagogy and assessment because it identified the different ways in which students can be smart. I knew the best way to find out whether I was right was to convene a group of teachers and get their reactions to the idea of multiple intelligences. I talked about the book at a faculty meeting and asked who would like to meet over the summer to discuss it. To my delight, a third of our faculty stepped forward.
That experience was remarkably positive. We read Gardner's book chapter by chapter, gathering for breakfast in the morning or over lunch. Teachers took turns leading the discussion. In the fall, members of the book club shared what we had read with the rest of the faculty. As a result, we began to use student portfolios and host a Portfolio Night each spring. We also focused on developing our students' individual intelligences.
This first book club was so powerful that we've continued having one every summer. We choose books that help us pursue a schoolwide interest or goal. We have studied intellectual development by reading Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence and Mel Levine's A Mind at a Time. To learn about diversity issues, we have plunged into I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum. Sometimes I suggest a book, and other times teachers nominate titles.
I remember a discussion that stemmed from reading Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Beals. In this memoir, Beals recounts her experiences as one of the Little Rock Nine, the group of students who integrated Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the 1950s under the protection of federal soldiers. At one point, the group was discussing Melba's description of how hard it was to be of dating age in that setting. One of our black teachers began to speak quietly and emotionally. “This reminds me so much of my high school days,” she said, “when I was one of few people of color in a white high school. My friends told me that they didn't even see my color, and they never knew how much that comment hurt me.”
The room was silent for a minute until I spoke: “Thank you for sharing that. It must have been really hard for you.” She nodded, and other members of the book club began to offer their support and share their experiences. One teacher said, “I might have made that comment, too,” and this remark led into a discussion of racial insensitivity. The openness of that discussion was liberating and set the tone for many subsequent candid conversations.
Every faculty can benefit from such a summer opportunity—and opportunityis a key word: Our book groups are always optional. Even teachers who don't participate learn because we bring our insights back to the entire group. If teachers can't take the time to discuss a full-length book, a group could easily discuss journal articles.
A summer book club won't just boost your teachers' professional growth. It's also a great way to develop collegiality among teachers and administrators. What will you be reading this summer? Send me an e-mail; I'd love to hear!
