Give Me A Break!

Salvēte omnēs!

Today's post won't go into a file of activities or things you can pull up when you need something for that one class. There are tons of other posts (here and elsewhere) for that. Today, I want to reflect on something that happened to me over my spring break.

To set things up, you should know that I went into spring break telling myself that I was truly taking a break - I did not make overly ambitious plans to catch up on schoolwork or forge ahead to prepare for the remainder of the year. Instead, I told myself I would treat it as a true break from school life. And that meant no working / no cheating. I did say that I could write a blog post that had been on the back burner for a while. And when I set a rule for myself like that, I'm pretty good at holding to it.

For the most part, it went great! I was able to resist doing work and ramp down into a more refreshing, relaxed pace of life. For almost the entire time I was devoted to doing less and breathing more.

Sound good to you? Break me off a piece of that!

Unfortunately, the piece I want to 'break off' is not a bite of crunchy chocolate nostalgia. Instead, it is a reflection on one of those moments of weakness. Many of us teachers use social media as part of our professional development network, much to our great benefit. But there is another side to the 'connect through technology' coin. I was taking a break from schoolwork - but social media is connected to both my personal and professional life, so I didn't stop myself from using it over break. And because social media has, by design, ways of making you do things without thinking, it was the gateway to sliding back. Fortunately for me, I was able to notice and hightail it right back out of there!

I will not use names here, but in my mindless scrolling and reading, I began reading posts within professional groups, including blog posts from some of my favorite colleagues. I came across a post asking for advice (like many do). The topic turned to homework and breaks. You see, students had requested homework over break. Why would they do that? Because they actually had downtime from extracurriculars and attending class, so they could actually do the work. The poster was seeking advice about that scenario, ex post facto. Comments and advice were given, probably more than the original poster bargained for, emotions got a bit rankled, at least as I perceived them. I'd seen that plenty of times before. I sympathized with the original poster as well as with the commenters, who were all giving of themselves and were trying their best to make good.

But what struck me swiftly and painfully was the idea that the students saw a break in their schedule where they had downtime, and rather than choose downtime, they chose work. Like our system has taught them to do. Like our system has taught us (teachers) to do. Some commenters on the post proposed the same idea that I went into my spring break clinging to - that a break could/should be a break! There's a catch, though. That only works if the humans are strong enough to insert a break in their work or life. If the humans (teachers, students, whomever) have already been broken by the work, then what?

I understand that we as teachers want to instill in our students a strong work ethic, and often we can accomplish that by modeling industrious habits and dedication. But if we, in the very human field of education, lose sight of the bigger picture of the field - people, then it is very easy to accidentally teach work without its opposite, rest. Or, as a Latinist might put it, negotium without otium. Friends, let's seek balance where we can.