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Teachers are so lucky because they get summers off. I bet you've heard that before, but is that true? I'm going to take a dive into one of the oldest debates against teachers in summer breaks.

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The month is June and the kids are out of school enjoying their summer break. But what about the teachers and other faculty staff? Are they enjoying their summer break too? Are they lying by the pool, drinking margaritas, rusting and rejuvenating from a long school year? Or are they busy teaching summer school, attending workshops, curriculum planning, and maybe even working a part-time job? What is the truth about summers off for teachers?

Teachers often get criticized for only working nine months out of the year, while most other workers have to work all year round. If they get summers off, why would any teacher complain about their job? Is this a fair criticism or is it too harsh? Speaking on This is Dr. Chris Brown. He's been a high school teacher since 2007.

"I wouldn't say criticism, more of just kind of joking around, kind of giving a hard time. You know, as you have it so hard, you know, you're, you're off in the middle of summer. Yeah. You know, things like that. But I don't think when people say it, they say it. They don't say it maliciously, they say it just kind of jokingly. Just kind of jokingly." Yeah. "What I'm familiar with, teachers get paid in the summer. Um, so they work on a school year contract and their pay or salary is divided up over usually 24 pays. So it's divided out so that you get an equal amount all year, year-round." Okay. Yeah. "So workshops, um, conferences, I would say teachers, especially probably soon as the end of July, hits the beginning of August. While the school hasn't started, they're already starting to plan out the school year, um, putting their calendars together and kind of getting a scope and sequence of how the year's gonna go." 

Why are there summer breaks? The tradition of summer break can be linked to the agrarian calendar, prevalent in rural societies, in agricultural communities. Children were often required to help their families with planting and harvesting crops during the summer months. As a result, schools would close during this time to accommodate the agricultural needs of the community.

Urbanization and heat in the 19th century. As societies became more urbanized, the need for children to assist with agricultural work decreased. However, urban areas often face challenges during the hot summer months, including a lack of proper ventilation and an increased risk of diseases to ensure the health and well-being of students, schools began adopting summer breaks to allow for a break from the heat.

Vacation culture. The rise of vacation culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries played a role in shaping the concept of summer break. Wealthier families started taking summer vacations and schools began to align their schedules with these patterns. The summer break allowed families to spend time together and engage in recreational activities.

Health concerns in the early 20th century. Concerns about the spread of diseases, particularly in urban areas, influenced the adoption of summer breaks. Infectious diseases such as polio were more prevalent during the summer, and closing schools helped reduce the risk of transmission.

Standardization and educational reforms. As education systems became more standardized and structured, the concepts of summer break became an integral part of school calendars, and educational reforms, aiming to provide consistency and ensure that teachers and students had designated periods for rest, professional development, and curriculum planning.

"I would like to see schools go year round. I think we spend too much time talking about the summer loss of learning and retention. I would like to be able to take vacations other times than just the summer". According to us news.com year-round education can pose a challenge for working parents who need to arrange childcare during breaks that don't align with their work schedules. Childcare may be hard enough to figure out during the summer. Still, it can be even more challenging to schedule ways to keep your child safe and occupied during those additional breaks when most full-day camps and recreation programs are not available.

What do you have to say to those who criticize or joke about teachers saying that they shouldn't complain about their jobs cause of summer break? What do you have to say to those people? "So, you know, usually, a comeback for me is would you teach?"

That is a great question. In order to get an outsider's point of view of this, I spoke to Holli Brown, who has been a registered nurse for over seven years. "Well, personally, I would never want to be a teacher. I, during the school year when they are working, they're working after hours a lot. They're doing a lot of extra stuff. They're having to pay for things for their classrooms on their own. They're constantly getting flack from, you know, I'm sure administration about certain things and then getting pushback from parents about certain things they're having to, you know, deal with a lot of different kids' emotions and attitudes and whatever during the day. I don't know. I don't, I think they should get more than just the summer off."  "So, you know, usually, a comeback for me is would you teach?" "You couldn't pay me enough to be a teacher. I'm sorry."

As you can see, we did not have typical summer weather during the making of this video. We received a lot of rain on the one day I decided to make this video, but as you can see, there's sunlight out behind me. Now everything is back to normal. If you are interested in more reports like this one, please go to TFD Supplies.com or look for us on YouTube or Facebook. Or any other social media platforms, just look for TFD Supplies reporting to you from Swansea, Illinois. I am Ben Brown from TFD Supplies.