Twenty Years Ago: December 2003

For so many years, December was the most challenging month of the year. The weather turns colder, the weeks of school between Thanksgiving and winter break are hectic, and there are many holiday celebrations. I am not sure this got any better as my children got older. Thus, my level of busy was at its peak, “My school computer froze on me yesterday and it is sitting in the tech office. I have a haircut, interdepartmental lunch, I’m teaching Humanities solo and I need the laptop cart in the computer lab. It is going to be one hell of a day. Oh, and did I mention there is an FAC meeting after school. Oh yeah, need to call the kids’ doctor to set up a nasal spray session for them.”

The dog was still waking us up early – but not enough. He was leaving us smelly surprises, too. He was nearly blind, but had an operation on his eyes that was helpful – and time-consuming. 

We celebrated Hanukkah with family and at temple. I was also getting ready for a special family trip for winter break! We had never been on such a long plane flight as a family. Boarding a dog with significant medical needs was challenging. I kept waiting for the kennel to tell me it was too much. They didn’t say that in December – but they did say it later. 

I noted that, although a lot was going on at school, it was the portion of the day over which I felt like I had the most control, “Teaching is a challenge today, but that was the easiest part of the day.”

Packing for ten days out of town with young children was stressful, “We are going to schlep a ton of bags. We have four small bags, several as little as one of our carry-ons, one large Pullman, a car seat, three backpacks (carried on), and one rolled-on carry-on. Thank goodness we do not have a connecting flight; with so many pieces of luggage, the odds of getting one misplaced are way too good. Unlike my usual strategy, two of the bags primarily have the kids’ stuff and three have mostly our stuff.” It was clear to me, even then, that we overpacked. Oh, well. 

One theme of this retrospective of 2003 is that we had lots of colds. December was no different. One of my children almost always had a cold and either my wife or I would share it. However, this was the first time that our children got a flu shot. That helped! 

As we got closer to winter break, I found I was more and more desperate for the time off, – “I just need some downtime. I just need some time to turn off the real world.” Recently, one of my children felt the same way. These trips are now more about being together than relaxing and decompressing – but that was not the case twenty years ago.  

When we finally left, the kids were great on the long flight “Both took naps, both watched DVD, both nibbled and read and played chess. They are awesome.” They were and are great travelers. I sat between them with lots of activities and things to eat. The trip there was laden with anticipation, which helped. 

The trip itself was wonderful. I think that getting away from Chicago’s gray and cold weather is healthy and helpful. A change of scene is also a great way to feel renewed and see things differently. However, we do make the distinction between a trip and a vacation. While there were some vacation elements, such as the children going to the resort’s kids club, this was most certainly a trip. 

One child had an issue with water in the ear that necessitated a house call from a doctor. We learned that, after a day of play, the kids might literally fall asleep at dinner if we ate too late. One fell asleep and I had to carry him back to our room. 

We celebrated Hanukkah and enjoyed the resort’s Christmas activities. My parents traveled with us, and have over winter break since the kids were born. It was great to be together. I have always been so grateful that my parents have been such an integral part of my children’s lives – and are to this day. 

On the way home, the kids were tired. Yes, they slept, but they were also out of sorts. No one was looking forward to going back to the cold – or regular life. And then we moved on to 2004, as we now move into 2024: with hope, with conviction, with anxiety, and with renewed resolve. 

Happy everything to everyone! 

Midsummer Blues

We are only about a week from my mid-summer. It is not the real middle of the summer and not the summer solstice, but the time when I have been away from school for the same amount of time as I have until school starts: the middle of summer break.

The middle is when the bell goes off: summer is now “ending” and school is “around the corner.” The back to school sales started immediately after July 4^th, and I have learned to ignore them. But they are like that gnat buzzing around my ear.

I have two opposite responses to midsummer. I want to savor summer. I want to do all the things that I have not yet done. Yet, the urge to start to prepare for school grows more powerful the second half of the summer. I have done school planning throughout the summer, but at this time, I become more critical of myself and I start to feel as though I haven’t done enough. I look at my list of school tasks and beat myself up. I have been wasting my summer! What have I done with this time?

School is not the only clock ticking in my head. I am hyper aware that my family and I are experiencing a “last.” This is most likely the last summer that my entire family will be home together over the summer. My daughter just finished college and will be starting graduate school. My son will be a senior in high school. Next summer, one will be at grad school far away, and the other will be getting ready to leave for college. After that, our paths diverge.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t have vacations and holidays together. However, the odds of having anything close to a summer like this again are very slim. And it is almost over!

So I am trying to make this summer move in slow motion. I want to savor being together and not anticipate being apart. Even the negotiations about who gets a car to drive are making me melancholy. I don’t want to do school work, but I know if I don’t, I will pay for it later. Maybe that is a price worth paying.

The rest of my family seems keenly aware of this landmark as well. My daughter is spending tons of time with her grandparents. They aren’t in the same place with my son as they are with my daughter – and that is okay. He doesn’t feel slighted, but I wonder if he’ll get a similar opportunity.

We aren’t sitting around staring at each other. Both of my children have jobs. My wife and I are busy doing all those things that we cannot get to during the school year. I am busy, and fighting that busyness.

Summer is about to wane. My family’s life is at a turning point, too. It is going to take more than a few hundred words here or a few months of summer for me to adapt to our new world. It is not that I am not ready for it; it is that I am a little scared it isn’t going to be as nice as the brief interlude of this wonderful summer.

Next year and next summer will not be like this –and it is half over. Time to stop whining and savor this super summer while it is here.

Summer Is Over and That's Okay

Getting back to school is difficult. The allure of summer is strong. At the end of summer, I am in mourning for my freedom. I still have stacks of books to read, errands to run, and tons of tasks to accomplish. I am not ready to pick up the pace and leave my leisure.

Yet somehow, I drag myself into school, and set up my classroom. I put posters on the wall, and plan lessons. I go to meetings with colleagues,  and realize I have missed them.

Then the kids arrive. First, it is only the seniors who assist in the theatre classes. Then it is the big freshman orientation program. Finally, it’s the first day. And instead of summer, I am focused on my new students. I am calling their counselors and parents. I am redesigning all the plans I made at the end of the summer because Julie reads at a fifth grade level, and Steven needs will do better with a different topic!

By the end of the first week, I know their names and faces well enough to want to know more. We have exchanged letters and laughs, and we are ready to start the learning in earnest. Summer lingers over the Labor Day weekend, but it no longer has a hold on me. Give me a few months and I will long for winter break, but I am in the honeymoon now, and I want to see what we can learn together.

It is not as if summer is never coming back. Summer has taken a nine-month holiday, and when it returns we will all be different people. Being a teacher means embracing these cycles. Fighting them is a losing battle anyway.

At one of the many meals that sandwich our meetings, another teacher commented that, since the kids are always the same age, so are we. When you work with teenagers, you experience the illusion that time is standing still. I see my older students around town, at social gatherings, and on Facebook. Then I see their younger versions sitting eagerly in the classroom – and it does feel like time has not passed at all. My former students are teachers in our building, and parents in our community. They are better and bigger versions of the children I met many years ago – and so I am.

It is a special spiral. I am not teaching the same children nor the same subject each year. It appears that way, but that is an illusion. New technology, books, or tests are not what change the plans. It is all about the new students in front of me, meeting their needs, and bringing the learning to them. No class, lesson, or child is ever the same from one year (or sometimes from one day) to the next.

That is why this job never gets old. I may lose my hair, eyesight, and waistline, but I will never lose my love for learning with these kids. Summer is over; bring on the school year!

All Tricks, No Tweets: Looking Back at The School Year

At this time of year, I often the tweets from my classes as a way of summarizing the school year. However, I gradually realized that the way I was using Twitter was not effective and my classes and I stopped tweeting mid-year.

So I need another way to look back at the 2013-2014 school year and reflect. As the second week of summer break ends, I have the distance to look back and evaluate this year.

My daughter left for Africa just as the school year was starting. I was anxious and excited for her. Until she returned, I was not aware how those feelings weighed on me like thirty extra pounds.

It was hot when school started, and the heat didn’t leave. My three Freshman English classes (yes, three of them – that is probably a stressor, too) were in two different classrooms. One of these was so hot we started meeting in an air-conditioned science lab instead.

In early September, Chromebooks came to my classes! I had to figure out how to integrate them into our learning. The kids and I tried various strategies. It was clear that planning for Chromebooks took much more time. It took more than a month to discover approaches that worked. Although I spent the year adjusting and refining our use of Chromebooks, the first quarter was by far the most difficult.

In October, my daughter called at 6am to tell me there had been a terrorist attack at the shopping mall less than two kilometers from her apartment. That was when I started getting less sleep. Fortunately, that gave me more time to do the additional planning that Chromebooks required.

It was around that time that the behavioral issues in my last period class became problematic. One student would sabotage other students’ performances. Some students held it together all day long and, by last period, had no glue left. I had some very young and some very needy students. It was a less-than-perfect storm. I created some strong management structures to help them focus.

There were wonderful movements and it did get easier. The Chromebooks are very positive additions to the classroom. My classes were filled with great kids! Our wonderful teacher from the Czech Republic was a fantastic addition to our narrow Deerfield world.  My daughter came back to the states. We established a Chromebook routine.

Winter came, and we had more snow days than ever before. Earlier we were too hot. Now were too cold and there was a ton of snow. The schedule became a challenge when we missed a day, part of a day, or had to put a day back into the schedule!

Spring is always stressful, but it was more so this year. As kids register, courses fill or are dropped, and teachers receive their assignments. The quality of a year is strongly influenced by these decisions. The overall process was more painful and problematic than it has ever been in my twenty-eight years in the district. There were meetings upon meetings. Jobs were cut and then some reinstated. Courses were cut and some were brought back and some were combined. When I asked if we could get an outline of the process and the criteria by which these decisions were made, I was told it was not possible. No wonder our district is currently in turmoil.

Now it is summer, and I look toward next year. This cyclical process is one of the wonderful things about being a teacher. I get to try again. I get to expand on my successes and have another chance at my challenges. I do school planning in little bites each day. I spent an hour or so scheduling, reading, and of course, reflecting on how to make next year better.

Next year will be better. Next year is almost always better. And knowing about the bumps and bright spots from this year gives me even more tools to make 2014-2015, my twenty-ninth year at Deerfield High School, the best year yet.

Cold Days Slide Us Back To School

Every year, snow days are wonderful surprises. A day off for something else is unusual. Two days off is rare. Two days off attached to a break is unprecedented. But that’s what happened.

At the end of summer vacation, I am ready for school. I am eager to meet my new students, rise to new challenges, see my colleagues, and get back in the game. Spring break is always too short. The week flies by, and school vengefully returns. Winter break is just about the right length. Although a third week would be accepted gladly, two weeks are long enough to let go of school.

However, going back to school isn’t exactly welcome. I was bracing myself for the return last Saturday. The break had been especially meaningful. My elder child had rejoined the family after being way since August. It was a joyful reunion, and we had a week in splendid Hawaiian isolation.

We returned to cold Chicago, and my children got touch with their friends, and made plans. We unpacked and prepared for school.  The four of us got together with neighbors and family, too. Winter break was waning.

And then it got cold – real cold. On Sunday, I drove my daughter to her grandparents’ house in the morning. My van’s doors froze shut on the way. It was a sign of what was coming. Soon after, the superintendent announced there would be no school on Monday.

Monday morning felt like Sunday. We slept late, and had a leisurely breakfast together. Although my daughter wanted to go out with friends, she was easily dissuaded by the terrible conditions outside. So the four of us stayed home – together.

We watched TV, read, and played games. We did family work together. We filled out forms, planned for school, and enjoyed a very different kind of isolation. We opened all the cabinets, ran the faucets, and checked the water pipes in the basement regularly. It was an extra vacation day spent in the arctic.

We played a game after dinner, looked at photos of my daughter’s African journey, and went to bed warm and relaxed. We were shocked when we got notice of a second canceled day.

The second day was our transition back into reality. First, I realized that there was cold air coming through the vents. The furnace was no longer heating the house. Then, as my kids left to go to the movies, the garage door wouldn’t close. When it ceased to work entirely, we realized that the power was out. No problem, we have a generator. It didn’t work either.

Our super handyman came over and was able to make three of our four issues go away. Commonwealth Edison eventually got the power back on.

My wife and I sat down to a late lunch exhausted, but pleased that the kids had spent the drama time at the movie theater with friends. The second snow day felt more like a frantic Saturday.

Thus, we are ready to get back to school tomorrow. The two extra days were more than icing on winter break. They were a last chance to circle the wagons and spend time with important people. They were also a reminder of why school had been canceled in the first place, and that real problems and real responsibilities are never far away.

Currently it is 1° outside. My son is studying. My daughter is packing. My wife is at a meeting. I am writing. Winter break is over. Tomorrow: school!

The Vacation Before the Vacation

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Absent,

I am sorry we missed Marcus right before Thanksgiving break – and winter break – and spring break. I hope your trips were everything you hoped. I have attached our daily class agendas, assignment sheets, homework, and handouts.

When my children were in elementary and middle school, I remember being very frustrated just before holidays. It seemed like the day or even the week before breaks was filled with parties, movies, and non-academic fluff. I wish that were the case in high school. Unfortunately, it is quite the reverse. We barely have enough time to cover the curriculum.

In high school, we do our really need every moment. In fact, instead of showing Finding Nemo seven times, students frequently have major assignments, tests, or other assessments due right before or after the breaks. Part of this is due to where these holidays land on the school calendar. Thanksgiving is almost the mid-point of the second quarter. Winter break comes only two weeks before final exams and the end of the semester. Spring break usually marks the end of third quarter. It is highly probable that Marcus will have several tests, papers, projects, and presentations during the days immediately preceding each of these major school holidays.

I’ve heard that flights and hotels are cheaper before the holiday. It is so much nicer at the resort when it isn’t so crowded. I can fully understand why you are so eager to get away. I wish I could join you. Marcus is fortunate to get that extra time. Rest assured that, even if Marcus is traveling instead of being in class, the other students are still learning– just without Marcus. I am sure Marcus will eventually catch up. He will have to either turn in work prior to leaving or make up work upon returning. Some teachers will also assign homework over the break, so please remind Marcus to do that as well. Although this might be stressful and difficult, no doubt the trip will provide the necessary relaxation.

I am hopeful that Marcus can figure out the material without the instruction I provide in class. The activities and experiences in class would make his learning easier, but I am sure you can help him, and there must be some resources at the resort. You probably did something vaguely similar to our unit of study when you were in school twenty or thirty years ago, so you are well prepared to assist your child.

And Marcus was so good at being proactive before his absences. It is fortunate that I overheard him talking to the other students. I am sure Marcus will be just as responsible when making up work after the vacation. I believe he is missing a few days on that end, too. Right? I will send those additional materials, but Marcus has already told me that there may or may not be an Internet connection at your resort. Besides, who likes to do homework on the beach?

As we approach the end of the marking period, I will be in touch about Marcus’s grade. No one likes that kind of surprise. By the way, Marcus is still missing work from his prior absences due to his doctor’s appointments, soccer tournaments, and that extra special trip downtown.

Have a wonderful holiday, enjoy the beach, and please help Marcus learn the skills listed on the daily agenda!

Yours truly,

Mr. Hirsch 

Summer Guilt

“So what are you doing this summer?”

I am asked this question daily. I didn’t choose to be a teacher for summer break, but it is a wonderful benefit. When people ask me what I am doing, I often feel my answers don’t measure up.

I have my stock responses: I do about 80% of my lesson planning over the summer. I take workshops and classes. My wife and I travel. I spend a great deal of time schlepping my children and going to their activities and sports. We have quality family time. Yet, that doesn’t feel like enough. I do that during the school year.

I should say something like, “I am building homes for the poor, writing a book about literacy, running two marathons, reroofing my home, and teaching summer school to disadvantaged students – and that’s only July!” I feel guilty that my summer is not justified with productive and generous activities.

The truth is I like summer because it is not overstuffed and moves at a leisurely pace. It is the opposite of the rest of my year. Instead of the frantic early morning rush, I savor the slow slide from morning wake up to workout. I love making and enjoying breakfast rather than rushing through it. I get to say, “yes” to social engagements, special events, and last minute jaunts. My summer is not frenzied like the rest of my year, like the rest of my life!

So now I feel even guiltier. Not only do I get summer break, it is enjoyable and relaxed! I think, “others get a few weeks of vacation, and I get a whole summer.” That isn’t fair. Everyone should get to enjoy this kind of change of pace.

There are the stock rationalizations: my job as a teacher is different than other professions, but we know the truth about that. Everyone’s job has stress from clients and bosses, homework, legislative demands, non-air-conditioned work places, underfunded budgets, and restless teenagers (and their parents). Every job has its unique challenges and perks. We’re all in the same classroom –right?

I am a parent as well as a teacher. As a parent, summer is a joyous gift! I get to go full time with my family. I have the time to sit through long baseball games (and not grade quizzes at the same time), bring kids off to the pool, or take time to do whatever my children want. My kids and I share this calendar, and that may be my favorite thing about summer.

So how do I alleviate my summer guilt? I make long lists and do everything on them. All those home task, special projects, and school tasks that didn’t fit into the regular year finally find have my attention. Summer for me is not totally free – but unlike the rest of the year, I am in control of my schedule.

Summer is my crazy profession’s antidote. Maybe someday, we’ll find a way to make both teachers’ and students’ lives more balanced throughout the year. We won’t have the summer binge and the  school-year purge. I wouldn’t bet your vacation on that happening soon.

Someday, I’d like to take the summer off completely. I’d like to have a summer free from lesson planning, workshops, and schoolwork. One summer, I’d like to lose my to-do list. But that has another name: retirement. And my retirement is not that far away. Then I will really feel guilty!  

Winter Break, How I Love Thee

Let me count the ways:

Your timing is impeccable. December may not be the middle of the school year but it feels like it. The weather has cooled, snow has fallen, and the freshness of the fall is gone. Summer vacation feels very far away. By the end of December, I am tired and I need down time.

You are long enough to actually give me a true break. Most breaks from school are a day or maybe two. Even Thanksgiving break is not long enough to really create distance from school. Most days off are really a chance to catch up. I spend most school holidays grading papers, planning and whittling my list down to a reasonable size. Of course I do work during winter break too, but the work does not dominate the time. I can do other things and not feel like I should be doing schoolwork. There is plenty of time for the many things I want to do.

You provide me with a change of scene. For many years, I didn’t care to go away during spring break. It is too short. Winter break is my family’s time to get out of town. I value this change of scene. When I am at home, home calls to me. There are chores to do, bills to pay, errands to run. When I am away, I can’t attend to all those mundane details. I love having a week or so to just “be” and not “do.”

You rejuvenate me. After winter break, I feel renewed and can return to work with new energy. Unlike summer, I am not eager to return. The break isn’t long enough for that. However, I feel like I have actually been away and, since I haven’t spent a majority of my time on school, I can see some through the stress and frenetic fogs of December. I have more patience upon my return and that is a good thing as we roll into final exams.

You provide me with quality family time. I spend a vast majority of winter break with my wife, kids, and parents. We eat together and the meals are slow and luxurious. We play games and watch movies. On vacation, we spend most of our time as a group. It is a great time to talk about important (and trivial) issues. Whether it is my son’s impending bar mitzvah, my daughter’s college plans, my parents’ health issues, or household planning, winter break is the time for substantive family dialogue.

You let me read things that are not for school. My winter break reading, unlike much of my summer reading, consists almost entirely of material I will never teach. I read fluffy science fiction, parenting non-fiction, and computer and health periodicals.

Winter break, you are my favorite time away from school. Shorter than summer, but far more sweet, longer than spring break and better timed, you are the best of the school holidays.

I must admit, winter break, that when you leave me, I feel stranded and cold. Getting back to school after winter break is a dive into a cold pool and it takes at least a week to adjust. Summer break fades away while winter break shuts off. While it is a difficult transition it does not negate the positives. Winter break, how I love thee!

School's Cycles and Breaks

Returning to work after a vacation can be difficult. Going back to school after a break is often like diving into a cold swimming pool; it is a shock at first, but soon, you get used it. That is what I love about living in the world of education: the cycles. The academic calendar is built on a series of starts and stops, beginnings and endings. It is a constant spiral of cycles that never really repeat.

Each year I get a fresh set of faces in my classroom. Although I am teaching “the same” curriculum, it is never a rerun of the year before. Not only do my new students alter the way the class functions, I am never content to simply repeat what I did in the past. I must tinker and tweak, revise and improve my lessons. In fact, I spend much of the summer doing just that. I feel compelled to apply what I have learned one year to the next year.

As the year progresses, my students are no longer new. They become part of my family. As I plan, I ask myself, “How will James react to this?” or “Will this challenge Angela?” or “How can I make this work for Steven?” I tailor the instruction to the students in front of me. It is custom made and it will never fit another class like it fits the current one. That experience makes me a better teacher and I carry that into the next lesson and the next year.

Although I adore my students and my career, the days off and the three breaks are very welcome. They are rest notes in our beautiful academic symphony. Sometimes, they are short and they merely allow me to catch my breath. Sometimes, like winter break, they are long enough to divert me completely. Sometimes, they are long enough that, by the end, I am eager to return to my students and classroom.

The standard reply to the question, “how was your break?” is “not long enough.” However, the breaks accent the year in an important way. While there is debate about whether students should get homework over breaks (and similarly if teachers should grade over breaks), these breaks punctuate the learning experience and allow the learning “to sink in.”

People are not computers. We learn in a wide variety of ways. As we gain new skills, learn new concepts, we change. Especially for children (and their teachers), that process takes a ton of energy. I always know when my son is about to experience a growth spurt; he eats a ton and sleeps late. Learning is no different. Students need time to make connections, apply their learning to their daily experience and to gather energy for that next leap.

My entire professional career has been in education. I have never experienced a job that moves in a straight line. I watched my parents and friends and I think my cyclical career has advantages over the more conventional routine. Of course there are trade offs and many of those are all too obvious. However, as we finish this semester after winter break and a lovely three day holiday, I looked toward the renewal that comes after the breaks – and the breaks that come after the learning!