don't just do something, sit there
i realize not everyone has a seasonal profession. and, in some ways, i think it's better to work a little all year while you rest and play along the way. (just like if i was president, i would invite each member of the work force to take a year off with pay every seven years to increase quality of life. vote for me!) teachers get so used to moving at the speed of light that when that need isn't there any more, we can feel guilty. not for long, granted, we get used to and enjoy summer of course: exhale. and when that rhythm is found, it's time to amp up again (big inhale).
this can be seen in each year's graduating class. they can't wait to bust out into the great big world of no classes; prison, i think a few of them affectionately term us. inevitably, a few always show up the day after the ceremony when they no longer have to, hanging out at school and wandering the sidewalks i think because it's familiar and they aren't sure what to do next. real prison is expecting other people and other things like the nebulous "summer" (a series of days in which you must enjoy each moment to the fullest just like the other 9 months of the year) to make all your wildest dreams come true.
i try to give each class the same advice and challenge, "if you are bored, perhaps it's because you are acting boring; get out there and try new things!" this involves creating some of their own positive stress--like self-imposed deadlines can be a good thing--and actively initiating their own learning patterns. same for us.
just for a few days, everything seems anticlimactic...a little too quiet, a little underwhelming...because, by contrast when you've been working with 350 people each week, this is actually normal and takes a few days to hit the "reset" button. so for now, i will courageously tell myself, "don't just do something, sit there."
this can be seen in each year's graduating class. they can't wait to bust out into the great big world of no classes; prison, i think a few of them affectionately term us. inevitably, a few always show up the day after the ceremony when they no longer have to, hanging out at school and wandering the sidewalks i think because it's familiar and they aren't sure what to do next. real prison is expecting other people and other things like the nebulous "summer" (a series of days in which you must enjoy each moment to the fullest just like the other 9 months of the year) to make all your wildest dreams come true.
i try to give each class the same advice and challenge, "if you are bored, perhaps it's because you are acting boring; get out there and try new things!" this involves creating some of their own positive stress--like self-imposed deadlines can be a good thing--and actively initiating their own learning patterns. same for us.
just for a few days, everything seems anticlimactic...a little too quiet, a little underwhelming...because, by contrast when you've been working with 350 people each week, this is actually normal and takes a few days to hit the "reset" button. so for now, i will courageously tell myself, "don't just do something, sit there."
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