It’s a bit after 10 pm Sunday night, August 24th. We just got back from the Ocean City Boardwalk for one last family jaunt before the rides go dark for the summer. Amid the sights and sounds of the boardwalk, my mind wandered a bit, as I thought about the week ahead and the new school year, just days away.

“August often feels like one long Sunday night to teachers,” observed a friend of mine, recently, via email. I’d never heard the expression before, but it really captures the buildup of anticipation as the new school year approaches, while, at the same time, evoking images of restful summer days, recharged minds and rejuvenated bodies.

As I look back, my summer has been a month of Sundays, two months’ worth, to be precise. School starts in a week or so (some of you are back already!)  Personally, I can’t wait! Yes, it’s true, I’m even more enthusiastic than usual. Why? Because I’ve had the good fortune to spend much of my summer surrounded by some of the most talented, dedicated, motivated, fun and friendly educators in the world, doing the thing we love most: feeding our nearly insatiable appetites for knowledge, learning and connection. And I’ve got the photos to prove it. :-)

It started with the wide-eyed workshop participants at my “Google Camp” on the Monday after the last day of school, hungry to learn how to leverage “The Googleverse” to maximum advantage; the 14,000 or so people from all over the world (including many members of my personal learning network) who descended on San Antonio, Texas for NECC; the hundreds of classrooom teachers, hardcore gamers and academic researchers at Games+Learning+Society ’08; the group of 40 or so administrators, principals and superintendents who spent two days with David Warlick and me discussing the Future of Teaching and Learning at NJELITE; the class of up-and-coming administrators taking part in the NJEXCEL program who were so hungry to learn about safe social networking and web 2.0 tools; the group of Social Studies teachers from all over the state taking part in an annual summer institute; the launch planning session for Will Richardson and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s Powerful Learning Practice New Jersey rollout (in partnership with Kean University); and finally, a terrific NJDOE Summer Institute featuring speakers including Erica Denman, the kind of presenter whose professional aura effortlessly transforms any space into a vibrant, comfortable, engaging classroom.

The cost to my district for this professional development extravaganza? Exactly $25, for that NJDOE Summer Institute. The rest I either paid for myself, got a scholarship to attend, or was paid to deliver. Not a bad way to spend a month (or two) of Sundays! If my calculations are correct, I was either at a workshop (or leading one) for about eight of the ten weeks that comprise summer recess. “Off,” indeed!

It has been a truly magical two months. It is hard to put into words how these experiences have changed my outlook. We read so much in the popular press about downtrodden, overburdened, burned-out educators, frayed to the breaking point by seemingly endless administrvia, the pressure of high-stakes testing, and the disintegration of family values in our country. Funny, I didn’t see any of those teachers this summer. The ones I saw were passionate about their profession, excited about being in the classroom, eager to learn new things to share with their students, and relentlessly positive about the future.

I’ve often said that I wish we had school 12 months a year. It’s true; I miss my students from the moment they walk out the door in June until the day they return in September. But now, after having spent this summer with a whole different group of “students” – both peers and people far more professionally accomplished – I have a new found appreciation for the value of a “summer off.”  I’m excited about Summer 2009.

Almost as excited, that is, about September 2008!

Have a great year, everyone!

-kj-