At this point, you’re likely into second and final week of your Winter Break. You’re probably at a point where you are still enjoying your time off and don’t really want to think about going back quiet yet. But yet, somewhere in the back of your mind, you’ve got a quiet voice reminding you that you only have so many more days until you’re back in the swing of things in your classroom. I lovingly refer to that feeling as the “end of break yuckies” and know all too well how they feel. So believe me, I get it!
We drove past a school yesterday while heading out to the grocery store, and there were several cars in the parking lot. My daughter immediately asked if they had school today. When I told her that they still didn’t have school for another week, she then wondered why there were teachers at the school. I mean, it was a valid question. A question that made me start to think about my time in the classroom and how much of my break time had been used to prep for future lessons at home or actually going into the building to get my classroom in order for my students to return. While I tried to avoid going into my classroom or prepping lessons over breaks, I usually had to in order to avoid chaos on the first day back.
As was evidenced by the cars in the parking lot yesterday, I know I’m not the only one who has had to use break time as work time, and that begs the question: why are we not giving teachers more paid prep time around big breaks?
What if, instead of teachers and students returning all on the same day, we gave teachers a paid prep day before students return? That way, teachers would be able to more fully enjoy their break without having to sacrifice a day of their time off to get things ready for their students to return. A professional development day of sorts, but no meetings, no trainings, no “team building” exercises. Just a day for teachers to come to the building— in their comfy clothes if they want— to get stuff done: make copies, make worksheets, plan lessons, sanitize their desks, reorganize supply bins, change their bulletin boards, and so on. If budget allows, the school could provide lunch for the teachers, and teachers could simply get stuff done without having to take breaks for meetings.
I know there are teachers out there who would greatly appreciate a day like this, and would have such a relaxing yet productive day. So, I want to know— does your district offer a day like this every now and then? If not, would you utilize it if it were offered? Let me know in the comments!