This summer I am starting 2000 hours project. 2000 hours is the brainchild of a teacher named Chuck who is fed up with the popular misconception that teaching is really a part-time job because, after all, we get to leave at 2pm and get the "summer off." To dispel this myth, he decided to log the number of hours he spends working during both during the school day and during his time off. I love this idea. I'm not sure I will continue it for an entire school year, the way Chuck is, but I am definitely ready to commit for summer. For one, I too am becoming grumpy with pundits and politicians who have never set foot in a classroom/school library, but who feel they have the right to comment on what an easy job we have. But also, I'm just interested in finding out how many hours I really do put in during the summer months. (An aside, my husband is always complaining that I'm really a 12 month employee who settles for 10 month pay, so this summer we're going to see if he's right!) Anyway, I'm so geeked out over this project that I created a couple of items to help chronicle my (and maybe your???) journey.
First, I created this badge for my blog. If you're gonna log your hours too and want to plaster a badge on your blog, feel free to use it, change it, share it, etc. (The image is my own - one I took for my 365/Image a Day Project. The text I added using Picnik.)
Second, I created a spreadsheet to track my hours. I used Google Docs to create the sheet and will use it as my "time card" for this project. This way, I can access it if I am away from my home computer but still "working." Plus, this way all the world can keep track of my hours. Perhaps someone will even start a pool and take bets on just how little actual "life" I have. :) Anyway, in addition to figuring out exactly how many hours I will spend working this summer, I'm also looking forward to seeing what type of work I do during the (almost) 2 months I have away from school.
However many hours I actually log, I feel like this is a good exercise for me - both personally and publicly. I can only imagine that being honest and reflective about the amount of time I spending working when I don't really have to will be a good thing. Plus, like the creator of this project, Chuck, I'm anxious to dispel a few myths myself.
So... how did I spend the first day of "summer break?" I updated the library webpage to include a summer reading project and a super cool culminating video for our year end Food for Fines project. Then I sent out a year end letter to parents inviting their students to participate in said summer reading fun and emailed my principal with an update. All told, it took me just shy of 2 hours.
Anyway, if you're planning on clocking a few hours this summer, consider this a personal invitation to join the 2000 Hour Club. In addition to whatever updates I post here, I'll also be tweeting about it using the #2000hour hashtag. So, c'mon! Join me! (You know you want to!)
