Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Earworm. It’s a good name for those tunes you just can’t get out of your head. Recently the Who’s, ‘Who are You?’ has been rattling around in my head, not least because I’ve been a recent convert to watching reruns of CSI.
We constantly rerun in our head versions of ourselves, who we want to be, who we think we are, who others think we are. Many of us identify so much with our work that who we are is intimately bound up with what we do. Any criticisms of our work are a slight on us personally, and those are the tunes top of our replay list.
A different song
Summer presents us with an opportunity to explore those other sides of ourselves, to focus on other interests that remind us that we are not just a teacher, but we are also a parent, family member, friend, walker, reader, musician, tennis fan...
This is recreation, being formed anew, reintegrated, put back together. During term time, we are pulled in so many different directions that we feel left in pieces.
Being reminded
Curiously, an extended break of a few weeks (and it is often just a few, not the whole six or seven weeks), helps us remind ourselves why we chose our profession in the first place. As we let all the hassle come to the surface and burn off, we are put in touch with our generous heart that is allowed to beat again and expand.
Suggestions
Whatever it is that we do, when we’re not teaching, now is the time to do it. We don’t have to have exciting trips here, there, and everywhere, or suddenly decide to climb El Capitán. Whether it’s catching up on TV, watching the tennis, or finger painting, let the other parts of you breathe.
It’s also alright to think about being a teacher. After all, you are. But, you can think of being a teacher from a totally different and unpressurised viewpoint. This is as much recreation as the rest of what you do this summer.