I laugh at myself as I see what a year in the realm of education has done to me. The average Joe(or Jane) goes to work, does their thing there, and then goes home. I feel like a career in education such much larger an undertaking. I realize that only after one year in teaching, I have a hard time relaxing and being unproductive. I have ghost grading/planning pains, meaning I think I should be planning something or doing some kind of work, but there is none to do. It is done for the year. So, as I sit on my first real day of vacation (spent lots of time with the family last week), I realize that it is hard and even to some extent uncomfortable to sit and relax. I think I may actually like stress. Go figure. So, I am endeavoring to do things to fill the relaxation gap. I am reading books, refinishing furniture, exercising, trying to get a summer job teaching. All kinds of fun stuff, just to keep from having to be unproductive.
But here is the real conundrum. I actually think that after being so driven, stressed, and "productive" all school year long, that unproductivness is productive. We have to go through a cool down stage or else the average teacher would spontaneously explode in a mess of educational jibberish. Thus, the lesson I am learning this summer is to relax and enjoy the break, try not to be too "productive" and just enjoy life without 20 screaming kids and planning to do, and get comfortable with those wonderful things in life that being productive takes me away from like my beautiful wife, hobbies, exercise, enjoying watching the sun go down, etc. Thus, in the near future, if you ask me how I am doing, it is my endeavor to say, "Unproductive and loving it!"
5 comments:
Nah. Enroll in a grad school course or two. Then you're focusing and on your way to higher pay, fabulous, all-expense-paid cruises to far-flung locales, birds chirping and an angelic choir singing your praises. Women will want you, men will want to be you and your thousands -- no, millions -- of protoges will make pilgrimages in the hope that you'll shine down some glimmer of acknowledgement.
well... you'll get higher pay and another degree at least...
Huh. No Norvells or Vendsels commenting... that's odd. Did I blogfart or are you all on vacation at the same time? (You know, like the Bushes and Kennedys do...)
Well, this Norvell just got back from vacation and is now catching up in the blogging world....
Dave, I'm glad you're off to a great start for your unproductive summer! And I bet Karen's glad for the furniture refinishing! I'm only a little jealous that everyone has the summer off but me. :)
unfortunately, the refinishing is at a standstill. The sander broke. I am waiting on the factory to ship me a new one though, so hopefully in another week, we will be up and running again.
You know, I've got a sander if you want to borrow it...or should I not mention that, so you can still get some time off? :)
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