Summertime Anxiety-Enders

We're not grading, setting up the classroom yet, fielding parent phone calls, or being observed, so, why the anxiety? What can we do about it?

This summer, thousands of teachers will wake drenched in sweat and paralyzed with fear. Minutes later, after calming self-talk ("It's summer, why am I worrying about school?"), we resume our regular summertime temperaments. Ask any teacher about those summer nightmares and they will tell you plenty of stories. We discover that we're not alone in experiencing such anxiety. Common dreams seem to be:

• arriving late to school and discovering that we've missed our entire 1st day
• teaching and talking to a class that is totally ignoring us
• discovering, while still in the school's parking lot, that we're missing items of clothing
• being called to the principal's office in which we're told that we have missing college credits (or worse, high school classes) and should never have been allowed in the classroom

Why do these nightmares recur during what should be our most peaceful time of year? We start anew with a mixed bag each year. It's part of what both terrifies and excites those of us in the field. The most important question is how to reduce the recurring nightmares and live a balanced life.

WebMD suggests yoga, meditation, exercise, and keeping as regular a sleep schedule as possible. I find that keeping a pad of paper and pen on my nightstand helps in that I feel as if I won't forget something "to do" in next year's classroom. Most of all, it helps to know that nightmares are one of the most common experiences among all classroom teachers. My Aunt Ginny, a beloved high school teacher and mentor, once advised me, "When you stop having the back-to-school nightmares, it's time to stop teaching and move on!"

What's your nightmare experience? When do you start having them?