The signs that summer vacation is looming are quickly becoming more obvious than those for the failed rapture. I had my final band concert of the year last week and the students (and their teacher) are having a hard time trading their daydreams of golfing and bicycling for reappearing concerns over the intonation issues at m9 of Pomp and Circumstance or the Star Spangled Banner; and who could blame them? The students have been hard at work over the last few weeks and I'm pleased to say that their hard work paid off with their last concert.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Another Brick in the Wall
It’s hot, sticky, perspiring, and fantastic! Even though my colleagues and I are sweltering away in our classrooms (our high temperatures over the weekend clocked in around 65 degrees, while three days later we skipped past our first 80 degree day and hit 92 degrees), I can’t help but enjoy this heat. I had a romanticized conversation with my fiancée last night about waking up on my own terms, going for a long bike ride, reading a good book, napping, and then practicing my chip shot in the back yard with an ice cold… lemonade and the smell of burning charcoal. Pair this with the occasional vacation, teaching symposium, or bachelor weekend in Las Vegas and you’ve got the makings of a great summer vacation.
There has been a lot of talk lately about the need (or lack of need) for summer vacation. Many of the articles that I’ve read touch on the same overall principals:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Engaged and Still Having Fun
You know that look, that look of confusion beyond the realm of current consciousness; that look, which’s only condolence is, “someday they’ll figure it out…” We’ve all seen that look; but seeing our students “figure it out” years down the line is not quite as satisfying as when we “figure it out” and look back to the days of our own obliviousness.
This isn’t a story about someone placing a ten dollar bill on the rail of a pool table and my brain, a la Homer Simpson, thinking “Doh! I wish I had paid more attention in high school geometry!” No, this story is much more subtle; this isn’t a slap-in-the-face epiphany, this is a realization based on years of personal and professional growth.
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