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When I was a kid, I was always ready to go back to school after two boring weeks at home. But a lot of my classmates weren’t happy about returning to a schedule filled with homework, tests, and early morning wake-up calls. Checking out teachers’ blogs this morning, I can see that they, too, experience a range of feelings on the eve of returning to school after an extended break.

Pissed Off Teacher, a veteran teacher at a large high school in Queens who was eligible for retirement two years ago, writes that the vacation renewed her spirits:

I am definitely going to wait until summer vacation to decide whether I should retire this year or not. When I am at work, I am tired and frustrated and ready to pack it in. Yet, as I contemplate returning tomorrow, I feel excitement, not dread. (OK, a little dread. I am really not looking forward to getting up at 6:15 while the house is cold and everyone in it is asleep.) I know I am nuts, but I missed the lunacy that goes with my life as a teacher.

A first-year teacher and brand new blogger, teachnyc, didn’t feel the same way, instead creating a TeachFor.Us blog to express his anxiety about returning to the classroom. Teachnyc writes:

I have one day left of glorious winter break and instead of spending it relaxing and simply enjoying it I am trying to figure out way to get the knots out of my stomach. Like most teachers  I am not quite sure why I am having this reaction to going back to school, in fact I never felt this way as a student but for some reason the thought of being back up in front of the class make me want to dig a deep dark hole in the ground and hide in it. To make matters worse, I could be spending this time lesson planning so that my first week will not be miserable and stressful but just thinking of lessons sends me diving back under my covers.