The Reset Button

I was looking through Facebook the other day and saw one of my former teachers and her family tubing on some lake. The children, a rising second grader and first grader in my former district, were grinning ear to ear as the were sliding through the water. A smile crossed my face. A decade ago, maybe more, I remember a friend complaining that teachers get the whole summer off. I don't hear that complaint as much any more.

I looked at the picture and those pictures of several of her colleagues and I'm glad to see them spending time with their families, taking time with their children now. As I've grown and our profession has evolved, I have begun to realize how fleeting these moments are for these individuals. Whether we like it or not, schools have changed over the past 17 years since the passage of No Child Left Behind. Teachers aren't cruise directors given children tasks and simply waiting for them to complete them. Teachers are literally making hundreds of decisions an hour for their students, modifying and adjusting tasks and learning experiences based on classroom formative feedback. The hours for both students and adults are not 8:30 to 3, but rather often 7:30 to 10 or 11. These children I was looking at in the picture I knew had been working hard all year long. I am sure there were evenings by the end of a school day in which they simply melted down for their parents based on the exhaustion of their work. There were days after long committees, data analysis, center prep, and assessment feedback the teacher-moms were ready to melt down from the exhaustion of their day and week.

I've been using computers since the 80's. I remember the amazing things they could do. The sheer numbers of operations and tasks they could complete. I also remember at times even the computer would become overwhelmed with the tasks at hand and on those machines, we all did the same thing, "Control-Alt-Delete" and the system would reset. Even todays machines, as advanced as they are, need to be rebooted from time to time. Their energies restarted and memories cleared.

My brother just arrived from Scotland on "holiday." He spoke of the required vacation he had during the year. It seemed so odd, that I looked it up. In the United Kingdom, employees were required 20 paid vacation days by law. In fact many countries require time for their employees to reset.  I would presume that this results in more productive work when the employee returns, just as the computer becomes more productive after it is rebooted.

I think back to this past school year for my children, my bride, and myself. I think we as a family recognize that we all need some reboot time. We realize that this past school year was a challenge and the upcoming one will be even harder. Whether it's advanced courses, new responsibilities, or new schools, there are challenges before us. So, I think I may follow my former teachers' model, take a few moments to reset and reboot, knowing that we will be digging in for far more than 8 hour days as school begins. I hope you do also with your kids.

Working Hard Until You Crash