Teachers are exhausted. It has been a long year. The work is hard, grueling, exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, rewarding, demanding, full of fear (yet another school shooting in the news), full of joy (those looks of dawning comprehension lighting up a child’s face), and, in the end, too often we get a pie in the face from self-appointed experts who haven’t a clue.

“Those who can do, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

Nope, nada, wrong, wrong, wrong. Those who know how to do, teach. Those who don’t, criticize teachers who do.

Enjoy your summer break, teachers. Many of you will still put in unpaid hours to help your school get ready for the next year or to catch up on professional development hours you put off because you wanted to be in your classroom every day that the students were there.

Relax, refresh, recharge your batteries, reacquaint yourselves with your own families because during the school year, you were focused on your students.

You deserve your break, and surprise of surprises, I’m going to let McDonald’s have the last word: You deserve a break today.