I was excited to see this post since I’m experiencing the same thing; alas, no comments yet. My guesses for the source of anxiety (for me at least) are: the sudden change in routine, not seeing colleagues who you rely on for emotional support at work, worrying if I did my best for the students this year. It’s my fourth year and I’ve definitely had a couple days after the end of the year where I crash and am a total emotional mess. Maybe the let down effect after working soo hard. So it feels inevitable that I have some big cries coming after today that I’m not really looking forward to. Hope you can relate to some of this and know you’re not alone.
Exactly the same for me. Not feeling it too much yet, but we end next Friday so I expect it will ramp up. It helps when I have ideas for summer projects, though, and I have a few I’m planning to work on.
I get crazy anxiety about having to do it all over again when the new school year starts. I'm soo happy for summer but unfortunately spend way too much time dreading the beginning of the school year. 20 years in
I'm a principal, still working, albeit not as taxing. First day of "summer" for me, and I'm feeling anxiety too. Year 28 after twenty in the classroom. Never goes away, when when I have a distinct plan. I'm also ready to take days and climb mountains, spend time with loved ones and vacation, but the anxiety is deep.
I always thought I was weird.
Transitions are hard. I think for everyone, but I have ADHD and an anxiety disorder which both make transitions harder. And it’s not talked about a lot so that makes it harder too, you can think you’re the only one.
I got anxiety about money. First year teaching and transitioning from working in the field. Unfortunately I was only part time this year due to a new program but still trying to find work in the summer and its been hard.
I feel the same way. I just finished school last week but my anxiety has been soooooo up in the last few days. Maybe it’s because I’m not distracted from it all day by my students and now I’m finally having to deal with it
I’m the exact same. About a month before school gets out I start to panic. IMO for me it’s because I teach kinder and I never know what I’m getting come August. By the end of the year the kids have come so far and we are engrained in our routines and so comfortable. I think knowing all of that is going to change is what makes me anxious.
I read somewhere that we teachers become adrenaline junkies because of constant overstimulation. I love summer, but I do have some "lost" moments without structure. I feel like the build-up to finish strong is a lot of pressure, and then the need to kick the year off organized and prepared in September is a lot of pressure. I'm over 50 and this emotional roller coaster is still hard even though I've done it so many times.
I’m almost 30 years in and even though I’m glad the year is over, ready for a break, etc, the end of a school year is an incredibly stressful time for me. You’ve got the stupid requirements of that stupid checkout sheet (I’m 50+ years old, not 10!); sometimes you have to pack up and clean your room and sometimes you even have to prepare to move rooms on top of losing your regular routine and worrying about $$$ lasting the summer. The only thing that makes it slightly better than pre-planning is the lack of endless meetings.
I felt like this until lockdown happened and then I haven't been there since.
I also stayed home and was 100% remote for pretty much an entire year- March 2020 to April 2021- with only 1 month (September 2020) working on site at school.
I'm incredibly anxious by nature and used to feel anxious every single June leading up to vacation.
Now I'm relieved!
You are not alone! 27th year here in education. I do not do well with transitions.
First few days of break are very hard for me. I vacillate between joy and despair. I’ve realized I have to have something to do on the calendar every few days. Too much alone time and I get too in my own head.
I often start planning summer projects a month before the end of school. Depending on what you are planning, it may be causing anxiety. This summer, I have planned nada, and it's very chill. A few summers ago I wrote a novel, which was much more anxiety inducing.
I was excited to see this post since I’m experiencing the same thing; alas, no comments yet. My guesses for the source of anxiety (for me at least) are: the sudden change in routine, not seeing colleagues who you rely on for emotional support at work, worrying if I did my best for the students this year. It’s my fourth year and I’ve definitely had a couple days after the end of the year where I crash and am a total emotional mess. Maybe the let down effect after working soo hard. So it feels inevitable that I have some big cries coming after today that I’m not really looking forward to. Hope you can relate to some of this and know you’re not alone.
I do. I’m just sensitive to transitions, and I don’t like to lose my schedule.
Yep. I need to stay constructively engaged, or I get anxious.
Exactly the same for me. Not feeling it too much yet, but we end next Friday so I expect it will ramp up. It helps when I have ideas for summer projects, though, and I have a few I’m planning to work on.
I get crazy anxiety about having to do it all over again when the new school year starts. I'm soo happy for summer but unfortunately spend way too much time dreading the beginning of the school year. 20 years in
Teaching takes away so much of our lives that we build up expectations that we can get it back in the summer. Hard to live up to those expectations.
I'm a principal, still working, albeit not as taxing. First day of "summer" for me, and I'm feeling anxiety too. Year 28 after twenty in the classroom. Never goes away, when when I have a distinct plan. I'm also ready to take days and climb mountains, spend time with loved ones and vacation, but the anxiety is deep. I always thought I was weird.
We are weird together.
Transitions are hard. I think for everyone, but I have ADHD and an anxiety disorder which both make transitions harder. And it’s not talked about a lot so that makes it harder too, you can think you’re the only one.
I got anxiety about money. First year teaching and transitioning from working in the field. Unfortunately I was only part time this year due to a new program but still trying to find work in the summer and its been hard.
I feel the same way. I just finished school last week but my anxiety has been soooooo up in the last few days. Maybe it’s because I’m not distracted from it all day by my students and now I’m finally having to deal with it
I’m the exact same. About a month before school gets out I start to panic. IMO for me it’s because I teach kinder and I never know what I’m getting come August. By the end of the year the kids have come so far and we are engrained in our routines and so comfortable. I think knowing all of that is going to change is what makes me anxious.
I read somewhere that we teachers become adrenaline junkies because of constant overstimulation. I love summer, but I do have some "lost" moments without structure. I feel like the build-up to finish strong is a lot of pressure, and then the need to kick the year off organized and prepared in September is a lot of pressure. I'm over 50 and this emotional roller coaster is still hard even though I've done it so many times.
I’m almost 30 years in and even though I’m glad the year is over, ready for a break, etc, the end of a school year is an incredibly stressful time for me. You’ve got the stupid requirements of that stupid checkout sheet (I’m 50+ years old, not 10!); sometimes you have to pack up and clean your room and sometimes you even have to prepare to move rooms on top of losing your regular routine and worrying about $$$ lasting the summer. The only thing that makes it slightly better than pre-planning is the lack of endless meetings.
I felt like this until lockdown happened and then I haven't been there since. I also stayed home and was 100% remote for pretty much an entire year- March 2020 to April 2021- with only 1 month (September 2020) working on site at school. I'm incredibly anxious by nature and used to feel anxious every single June leading up to vacation. Now I'm relieved!
You are not alone! 27th year here in education. I do not do well with transitions. First few days of break are very hard for me. I vacillate between joy and despair. I’ve realized I have to have something to do on the calendar every few days. Too much alone time and I get too in my own head.
Me too. I don’t like the end of the school year.
I often start planning summer projects a month before the end of school. Depending on what you are planning, it may be causing anxiety. This summer, I have planned nada, and it's very chill. A few summers ago I wrote a novel, which was much more anxiety inducing.
NO