This weekend I spent a lot of time at school, supervising a field trip on Saturday and a building rental on Sunday. In that time I wasn’t the only one in the building and my activities weren’t the only ones going on. In fact if you hadn’t looked at your calendar before arriving in the building it would be easy to mistake Saturday for a school day.
Saturday morning my school played host to: a science field trip, breakfast with Santa, Saturday school, the SAT, Special Olympics, winter guard clinic, theatre tech crew and the annual holiday concert. Then there were also students coming and going on their way to various activities off campus; activities such as boys & girls basketball, wrestling, youth in government, and various other athletic practices. One of the girls on my field trip was actually involved in three of these activities. 8am science field trip, 1pm basketball game, 6pm & 8pm holiday concert; when does she rest. When does she do homework?
Our days are so filled that they spill over into the nights and weekends. Students can no longer just be students. Teachers can no longer just teach. We all have to do so much more to prove our value whether it is to college admissions officers or the administrators evaluating us. As we approach the holidays and winter break I think its time for all of us in the educational community, students and staff alike, to actually consider taking a break.
Part of the joy of this season is knowing that for a brief period of time there won’t be five activities going on at once and you can concentrate on the moment. Reveal in the moment, your next careful moment may not come for another five months. Work hard these last two weeks so you can leave that grading at school. Spend a few extra minutes prepping a lesson plan for the Monday you return to school so that your break, even that last Sunday night can be spent with the ones you love and not the things you have to do.
The school life can be stressful, but it also gives us great opportunities to relax and reflect if we allow ourselves to do so. This holiday season allow yourself that gift.
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