Just Thinking

I almost didn't publish this. It's been written for several days. But after listening all day to teachers, it seems apropos. I don't think it will change anything, because this train left the station a long time ago. Take it for what it's worth.

This is my first vacation in, well, forever, that I don't have to worry about prepping (or feel guilty about not prepping) for the upcoming school year. Nevertheless, as summer rushes to a close, my brain circuits are still wired to think in those terms, even about a school year that won't exist, at least for me.

Lest you think this is some maudlin moan about not teaching or the death of a career, let me quickly disabuse you of that notion. I'm enjoying this pressure-free time and, at least to this point, have no regrets. Neither do I need to worry about the fact that I’m not doing the assigned boring summer reading of the latest education-savior (currently Marzano). Okay, I wouldn’t have done it anyway and wouldn’t have worried about it, but still….

What I do wonder, however, is if I could have gone a little longer had not the time allotted for the annual recharging of my teacher batteries become more and more compressed. Were I teaching this year, the meetings would have started in the first week of August, with classes the second week. That is closer to the rule than the exception, at least in Missouri. Contrary to popular administrative belief, the advent of before school meetings actually had in an inverse correlation to my enthusiasm for the upcoming year.

 Were I still planning to place my well-worn backside into that equally well-worn saddle for one more drive, I'd have about a week between getting home from vacation and the start of meetings. My vacation would have been either interrupted by using the briefcase full of books I always carted along for reading or planning, OR made less relaxing and enjoyable by the guilt of NOT using the briefcase full of books I always carted along for reading or planning. The school year, which now already encroaches on June, has also been increasingly extended with even more meetings and required reading (outside of what is necessary to plan a successful year).

Maybe this sounds like whining after the fact, but good teachers need, more than anything, time to recharge their batteries so that they can give their next “herd” (continuing the cowboy analogy) the care and attention they deserve. The myth of summers off has been exactly that, a myth, for a long time, and those summers have been getting shorter and shorter, with more and more interruptions in any case.

The drive for ever-increasing productivity from teachers may, like many efforts to cram more into less in the name of efficiency or accountability, be counter-productive. Artists don’t get better from externally imposed structure and pressure. More than anything, artists need time. Trust me when I tell you, the true artists are always thinking about ways to improve their art or how to forge new paths to their performance goals.

As my career protracted and the demands increased, I know my resentment followed a similar arc, and, because I feared it would spill over to the detriment of my kids, I knew (among other reasons, of course; and maybe it did anyway) it was time to go. As I look at the (now hypothetical) schedule for the upcoming year, I know I made the right choice.

Two final thoughts: Kids, too, need time to recharge. I will now confess (probably to the surprise of almost no one) I never graded (although I did read) the summer assignments that were mandated by the school, because I didn’t believe in them. Read, learn, explore. That would have been my assignment, but it didn't fit the model. I also used to oppose (for mostly selfish reasons, I admit) the year-round school concept. I changed my mind on that years ago, but a year with more extended breaks is worth considering. It would, of course, have to be implemented (more or less) on at least a regional basis, and while that’s not likely to happen, it doesn’t mean it’s not a worthy idea.