Some professors work through the fall and the winter just waiting for their time off in the summer. Other professors really enjoy teaching in the summer.
For those professors who teach in the summer, this could provide a tremendous opportunity.
If it is your first time teaching, the summer time may a good time to get used to your new work environment, get to know your colleagues and enjoy your time with your students in better weather. Teaching in the summer is an advantage for many new professors, as well as students, because worries about needing to cancel a class due to weather conditions are minimized.
The weather may even be so lovely that you can choose to change the classroom environment to outdoors in a quad, go on field trips and feel more encouraged to hang around the campus to get to know the school community better.
The summer is also a great time to get part-time or adjunct work with a college or university. You may have a more flexible work schedule and be able to devote a few hours to a course here or there.
Students can be at an advantage by taking summer school. Professors tend to be more relaxed and in a better state of mind than other times of the year. This may also translate into the kind of grades you would receive. As well, for students, it helps to get some of those extra credits or missed credits to either help you stay on course with your studies, or advance further so you would have more time for things like work and internships later on.
For professors who are fully established with the institution or institutions they work for…summer time is a great one to teach at your best. Usually with a lighter course load, there is more opportunity to either focus on the courses you have to teach, and/or to work on other projects that are important to you. These could be projects around the home, research, writing and projects related to work. You just may find that a project you start in the summer is something that you will carry with you throughout the year.
