I've Been Thinking

I was walking across campus this afternoon, ruminating yet again on how much I don't want to teach this summer. I'll be truthful—I want to surf and relax this summer. I mean, the idea of having to leave the beach to go teach for three hours a day (Monday through Thursday) this summer is not sitting well with me at all. But, see, I took the class in order to make money. As much as I want to surf, I also want to pay at least some of the bills. Anyway, I'm walking across the campus when a thought came to me. (It's kind of a long thought so bear with me.) I said to myself, "Hey!! Since I'm only a part-timer, I can get unemployment if I don't teach this summer! And I'll make more on unemployment than I would if I taught that one class! And if I get unemployment, I can surf at my leisure! So what's keeping me from telling the school I can't teach that class?" Do I feel guilty about this? No. Why should I? I'm not a great believer in the working world. I don't find anything stimulating about going to a job each day. Frankly, teaching is the first job I've actually kind of liked in a way. (Did that make sense?) I get bored at jobs. I've never held a serious job for more than a couple of years. I'm simply not meant to be cooped up in an office, looking at the same walls and the same people all day every day. Teaching fits me for several reasons, the most important being that the semester ends right around the time I start to get bored. I will also admit to thriving on the positive reinforcement I get from my students. But that's about it. The class I would teach this summer is a class I taught last semester, am teaching this semester, and will teach twice in the fall. Enough already! I want a break.