Happy New Year, colleagues! As we embark on what will be a very interesting and complicated 2025, I wanted to wish you the very best as we start the new year.
I tried to take my own advice from my last Off Script and find some down time with friends and family. I did, and it was very enjoyable. However, I am not sure about you, but I am terrible with downtime. Often, I found myself feeling guilty for resting or watching a movie when I knew there was probably something work related I could be doing. I had to remind myself that it was okay not to work, that it was okay to use the time to rest and refresh, as I know the challenges we will be facing this year will take a lot of collective energy to address.
The return to classes after a break is always tough for everyone: teachers, students and parents. The fact that the return to school after the winter break this year fell on a Monday made it seem somewhat crueler. To be honest, I was not sure there would be enough coffee to make the day tolerable. It was a Monday to rival all other Mondays. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a Monday hater. In fact, I find Tuesday to be the real joker of the work week. But this last Monday (January 6) saw a plethora of dropped items, spilled beverages, slow moving traffic, bad connections, grey skies and, to top it all off, political drama with the resignation of our prime minister. It was a rough first day back.
I have found in the past the return after winter break was difficult for my students, especially my Grade 12 English students, who were often scheduled to take Part A of their diploma exams only days after resuming class. They would come into class tired and cranky, and without any ability to remember any significant details about the literature we had studied all semester—literature they needed to know. That first week back always seemed like a mad dash to prepare students for diplomas when I would have much preferred to ease our collective way back into the routine of the school week.
As much the return to school after a winter break can be a bear, there is some comfort in knowing that we are all in it together. My colleagues and I were in it together, supporting our students and getting through that first Monday back. We got through the day knowing that tomorrow would be better (despite it being a Tuesday). That sense of unity and collegiality is something we will need as we navigate the back end of the school year, perhaps this year more than ever. ❚
