Part
1, by Regina McCurdy
University of Central Florida, School of Teacher Education
I stood there with the rest of the teachers, waving
goodbye and “Happy Summer” to hundreds of energetic, tearful, and excited
teenagers as they rolled off campus in a dozen or so school buses. This “last
day of school” teacher tradition at my former school is usually highly
anticipated by faculty members. It signifies all of the joy, challenge, hope,
frustration, and perseverance teachers experience throughout the school year.
It is like the release of one huge sigh of relief, “We did it!” And then we all
go into the cafeteria to have ice cream sundaes.
But for me, this year’s tradition held a different
meaning than the previous six years. This would be my last bus wave and ice
cream social as a middle school teacher. I was leaving the classroom as a
teacher and venturing into yet another classroom…as a student. After 13 years
of teaching science in middle and high school classrooms, I was transitioning
into full-time student mode pursuing a Ph.D. in Science Education.
Then summer begins. School teachers covet their two
months of summer bliss. The first couple of weeks, most teachers go into a sort
of hiding. You can almost hear the wildlife commentators whispering, “Watch
closely…as the teachers begin their break, you can see them begin to prepare
for hibernation. It is suspected that this time helps them rejuvenate and
replenish energy from the many months of instruction, counseling, meetings,
managing, re-teaching, assessing, evaluation and exhilaration they have
experienced over the year. We still don’t know where they go, but when they
emerge, they seem refreshed, preparing to attend summer PDs and lesson planning
for the next year. Such amazing creatures!”
But for me and others who finish the school year as
teachers to begin a new chapter in graduate school as students, the summer is a
“getting used to” season.
- Getting used to not attending summer professional development sessions…
- Getting used to hanging out with my teacher-friends and not mentioning “next school year”…
- Getting used to not stockpiling on school supplies during the tax-free weekend…
- Getting used to the idea of not having to rush getting dressed in the morning, making a quick cup of coffee (and maybe eat breakfast), getting the kids dressed and driven to school so I can be on time to work (Whew! That’s exhausting!) …
- Getting used to not eating with, planning with, spending time with my teacher buddies five days a week (and thankful for social media to keep these connections) …
- Getting used to explaining to multiple people what I will be doing as a doctoral student…(which sometimes makes me wonder, What WILL I be doing? Hmm…)
- Getting used to answering the curious question from my teacher-friends: “What kind of job or work will you be able to do after you get your PhD?”…
I think for anyone who has been teaching at least two or
three years, teaching becomes a part of your makeup, your lifestyle, your
personhood. By just telling people “I’m a middle school science teacher”, they know a lot
about who you are. Giving, caring, strong, brave (Shout out to all my fellow 7th
grade teachers!), resourceful, patient, smart are just a few of the
adjectives I’ve heard from medical assistants while drawing my blood, grocery store
checkout clerks while bagging my items for an impromptu edible lab, and parents
passing time at a birthday party of my child’s friend when I would tell them
what my profession was. I’m sure most
teachers have received similar types of complimentary descriptions when inquiries
about their job come up in small talk or causal conversations. Being a teacher helps
to shape who you are and how you view life. In short, being a “teacher” is all
encompassing. And while I am still getting used to quite a few things as I
leave my classroom as a teacher, there are many other things that, well, I’m
very much looking forward to as I enter another classroom as a student…
Regina is in her first year as a Ph.D. student in Science
Education in the School of Teacher Education at the University of Central
Florida. She has been married to her talented husband Michael for ten years,
and they have two bright and beautiful children, Ellis and Elyse, and
people-loving Labrador Retriever Sabra. While her research interests are many,
as she is an avid lover of learning and teaching, she wants to gain more insight
into how students’ social, economic, and cultural experiences and influences
affect their learning and motivation of science in the classroom.
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