As school begins to settle in, many Harrisites have wrapped up their jobs and internships, but what did teachers do during the summer? Do they keep teaching, work another job entirely, or do they rest and relax? The Classic spoke to three teachers who shared how they spent their summer vacation.
English teacher Sarah Levine discussed travel and creative writing. She said, “I went on vacation to Portugal and also went home to Massachusetts to spend time with my family and on the beach.”
Ms. Levine also decided to catch up on writing, to make sure she was prepared for the upcoming school year. She said, “I’m also working on a novel and during the summer I really enjoy writing because I find my new experiences apply well to pen and paper.”
However, she grew tired of constant traveling. She decided to spend some time teaching students during a summer program for the Starling Press, the student-run publishing house at Townsend Harris High School that she advises. She said, “The first month of summer is a recharge, but by the second month, it gets boring which is one of the reasons I do the Starling Press over the summer.”
English and ISS teacher Katherine Gelbman said that she spent her summer traveling throughout the country.
Ms. Gelbman began with a camping trip to New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, which was one of the many trips she took this summer. After some camping, Ms. Gelbman decided to bring her mother along on a “glamping” trip with her. She then spent time with her family before returning home. She said, “We headed to Colorado to help Kiara, my daughter, move into a new apartment and get settled.”
After spending lots of time with family and more camping, Ms. Gelbman headed to Tortola and St. Thomas to get a change of scenery and to “soak in some sun and saltwater,” she said.
Despite her very active break, she still missed her students. This prompted her to help out at some programs at THHS over the summer. “I loved coming in for Summer Bridge and meeting some of the incoming 9th graders and running into some of my students from last year as well. It always makes my heart happy to be around our incredible students,” she said.
Ms. Gelbman utilized her summer traveling to expose herself to new communities to make her classroom more inclusive and welcoming for new students. She said, “I love traveling, seeing new places, tasting new foods and meeting new people.”
Math teacher Dina Inoyatov also spent her summer traveling alongside her family. She said, “I traveled to Italy for a bit and got to see some intriguing sights like Lake Como, the Colosseum of Rome, and the Pantheon.” She enjoyed exploring a new place that would give her stories to tell her students to connect with them on a personal level to elevate her teaching.
Ms. Inoyatov agreed with Ms. Levine regarding taking the first weeks of break to recharge. She said, “Although I love teaching and my students, I still took advantage and appreciated the break by catching up on sleep and hiking, which cleared my mind.”
Ms. Inoyatov decided to be adventurous this summer by trying new things. She said, “I tried white water rafting for the first time.” She ended up really enjoying this, and she said that this translates into the classroom where she will try to use new teaching strategies this year, especially because she is taking over new classes.
