Beating the Third Quarter Blues

Third quarter is long, dark, and cold. The excitement of the beginning of the school year has been forgotten. In fact, we all now know each other so well that it feels as if we have been in class together five-ever.

Second quarter feels like the incline before the first big thrill on the rollercoaster. The honeymoon is over, and we are well into the real work. It is challenging and intense. It ends with the winter holidays and winter break with great relief and celebration.

And then we return for third quarter. The winter holiday decorations have been taken down. If any are still dangling, they seem like a sad reminder of past joy. The temperatures plunge into subzero. The school courtyards are closed. The sting of finals doesn’t go away quickly.

Like the third volume in a four-part series, the third quarter has little of its own story. In class, we work on new texts, but old skills. Very little is truly new and, no matter how I try to inject novelty and excitement, the lessons are bridges between the introductions of first semester and the challenges that await us in the spring.

So what is to be done? How do we beat the third quarter blues? Here are a few suggestions:

Games: Third quarter brings more than March Madness and, by the time that rolls along, madness may be too tame a word. My Freshman English students love playing the Sunday puzzle on NPR’s Weekend Edition. These are little challenges and joys that provide us with a dessert after wrestling with Shakespeare. In theatre class, be begin an improvisation unit where we can play both completive and collaborative theatre games that make us laugh.

Student Choice: My freshmen work hard to understand Shakespeare. During third quarter, they get to make Shakespeare do what they want him to do! They create puppet shows, parodies, graphic novels, and Shakespeare talk shows. Most of these are on video and treat our very British and revered literary texts to a good dose of satire, humor, slapstick, and healthy irreverence.

Get Moving: Getting students out of their desks is always important, but during third quarter it is critical. Whether it is enacting the play we are reading, working in small groups, using large paper and drawing on the floor, or cutting out words from newspapers and magazines to create ransom note poems, students will be able to fight the third quarter blues better if their bodies and minds are in motion.

Reflecting and Renewing:  My Senior English class writes graduation speeches during third quarter. These students are so focused on finishing their high school careers that third quarter can be a horrible tease: it is in the way of getting to May! Reflecting back on their high school years, collecting memories, and realizing how much they have changed and grown brings an appreciation of the journey when they only want to see its end.

Life Beyond School: All of us, teachers, students, parents, and others, need to balance our work life with our other roles. During third quarter, we feel like Tantalus rolling a rock up a hill only to have it come crashing down when the job is almost complete. Sharing our non-school lives not only enhances our relationships but also reminds us that our world is bigger than schoolwork. Kids light up when they talk about their passions. A few moments to celebrate the teams, shows, games, and other non-academic parts of our lives can be the sugar that makes third quarter go down.

Some would say that the best thing about third quarter is that it ends – with spring break! We return and it truly feels like spring, even if it is wet, gray, and muddy. Fourth quarter is the last lap to the finish line and we are eager to complete the year’s work. We can live through third quarter with games, choice, movement, reflection, perspective, and lots and lots of laughter!