[etni] How to Recharge a Battery (for teachers) from the School Matters Blog

From: Margie Cohen-Jackel <margiecj@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Margie -JackelCohen <margiecj@xxxxxxxxx>, Etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 00:25:57 +0300
http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/recharge-battery

How to Recharge a Battery


[image: pool 300x199 How to Recharge a
Battery]<http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/recharge-battery/pool>Teacher
development is a year-round affair  even during thesummer
months<http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/summer-vacation>
when
youre kicking back and enjoying some well-deserved time off. I always got
a kick out of students who had that special calendar at the back of their
notebooks. As June rolled around, they would start counting the days until
the end of the year. They would sheepishly smile when I noticed the big
black Xs they marked at the end of each day. I always wondered what they
would say if they knew about the calendar teachers were keeping.



Whether in the back of their day-planners or in the back of their minds,
teachers were also marking off the days. The only difference was that many
teachers had actually worked it out down to the hour! Summer vacation is
not meant only for kids.



The importance of professional
development<http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/video-professional-development>
for
teachers notwithstanding, those of us who have* *spent time in the
classroom understand why. Good teachers invest every ounce of their energy
into the children they teach. While many cannot understand why teachers
require such long vacations, they simply have never spent time in front of
a room full of students. The summer months are a critical time for teachers
to recharge their depleted batteries.



What I find interesting, however, is how quickly we miss the classroom. The
truth is that many teachers simply thrive on the thrill of teaching and are
nurtured by the incredible opportunity that educating young minds provides.
My wife always marveled at the fact that in over thirty years of teaching
and administrating, I was truly blessed to almost never miss a day.
However, by the first week of summer vacation, I was sick in bed. There was
no doubt in my mind that the classroom kept me healthy.



How does one balance the need for vacation with the need for teacher growth
and**stimulation?



A year ago, in a blog entitled What I Did on My Summer Vacation, I wrote
of a mistake teachers frequently make. I argued that for many, if not most,
relaxation does not result in recharged batteries. If one were to remove
the battery from an appliance, the battery would not recharge itself; it
would simply discharge at a slower rate. (I have heard that putting
batteries in the refrigerator significantly slows the rate of discharge,
but I would not suggest this for most teachers.) In order to recharge a
battery, it must be connected to a power source.



Teachers are no different. While some down time is recommended, powering
up is a must. Using the summer months for professional development and to
learn something new is the only way to begin the next school year fresh and
rejuvenated <http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/heart-america>.
For example, use the time to acquaint yourself with some of the latest
technologies that might excite your classroom come September. Learning
technology can be frustrating (*can* be?) when stressed by the demands of
overloaded teaching schedules, but it is fun and truly enlightening when we
have the time to discover the endless benefits technology offers. Find
something, *anything* that will help you grow as a teacher (try to get your
school to pay for it!), plug into it, and start recharging just as the last
X is finally marked on your calendar.
* *

**************************************
** Join ETNI on Facebook
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/31737970668/
** ETNI Blog and Poll
   http://ask-etni.blogspot.co.il/
** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org
** post to ETNI List - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** help - ask@xxxxxxxx
***************************************
[etni] How to Recharge a Battery (for teachers) from the School Matters Blog

Other related posts:
