T is for Taking a Break

 To be useful, instruction has to be fresh. The best instructors keep things exciting and, to do that, they have to change things up. 

Every semester, I think about changes I'd like to make in my classes. Lessons that were okay, but could have been better. Sparks of new ideas I want to fan into something bigger. Articles or websites I want to incorporate into discussions. But, amid all the planning, teaching, and grading that comprise the regular semester, few of my brainstorms ever make it past my notebook -- at least not during the semester.

My current, end-of-semester vantage point gives me a particularly clear picture of what I'd like to change (or ditch entirely) and what I'd like to keep. In a few weeks, I'll read student evaluations, which will give me even more information to work with. Over the break between semesters, I'll flesh out some of these changes but, since I don't want to spend my entire semester break working (for free), I won't get through everything.

This is where a sabbatical would come in really handy.

I must admit that I never really understood the concept of a sabbatical. I thought it was a great idea and a wonderful opportunity, of course, but I never really got it. 

Now I do. A sabbatical gives an educator (or any other worker, for that matter) time to do the kinds of things that enrich what she brings to the classroom (or workplace) through, most notably, travel, research, and/or education. It provides a new perspective, and an opportunity to bring new vision to the material she covers or the work she does.

Of course, now that I get it, I'm no longer in a position to be eligible for one. Ah, the irony.

Next semester, I'm teaching one less course than usual, offering me some time to flesh out a few of the ideas in my notebook. Of course I'll also want to do more writing while I have the chance, along with taking action on the laundry list of other things I don't have/make time to accomplish during a "regular" semester. 

Fewer courses means a smaller paycheck, though, making it easy to simply let those teaching ideas gather cobwebs (figuratively speaking) in my notebook. After all, I'm not getting paid to do anything with them. But, knowing that taking those notes from idea to execution would make life more interesting for both me and my students, I'm unlikely to let them sit, sabbatical or not (not).

A part of me wishes I was satisfied to simply to the same old/same old every semester. I hear there are instructors who do just that. I, however, don't happen to know any of them. 

I know I'm not alone, nor is this conundrum unique to education. Many people have aspects of their jobs that bleed into their personal lives, and spend time off the clock making sure things in their professional lives run smoothly. Many creative people (in particular) never stop thinking about new ways to do things, largely because flashes of insight don't occur on a regular schedule. But, as I seek to achieve a balance between my personal life and my professional life, I find myself wondering why sabbaticals aren't more of a "thing," why the concept of continuous self-improvement isn't encouraged more, and why so many of us (and not just educator) have to resort to doing so much "on our own time."

I know I'll get to those ideas, mostly because I love the process of creating something new, but also because it will bother me if I don't. Still, to have the time and energy to take these little snippets of concepts to the next level, there's one thing I need to do first.

Take a break.

After that, it's up to me to decide what's worth my time.

And what isn't.