I get lost in wondering. I mean, really lost. I wonder what happened to the year, I wonder what is going on with the world, I wonder what will become of the Seniors we just graduated, and I wonder about the future of public education and what it means, considering the ever-changing landscape that is the world of work. Just to name a few things.
The school year is over; at least, for the students it is. Having just completed my first year as principal of the local high school right down the street from my house (and the high school where my son attends, but that's another story), I have a lot of time to reflect. I mean, now that the year is over and I can catch my breath for a while and wonder - not for the first time - "what ever are we doing?"
I have had the luxury and honor of serving as building principal at all three levels of public education: elementary, middle, and now high school. This was the completion of my 16th year as a school administrator, and 21st year in the field of public education. I am still as active as ever, still get excited over great new ideas, still the #1 cheerleader around the schoolhouse, still get told I have way too much energy at 6:30 in the morning, and am still wondering what in the hell we are doing most days.
Take summer vacation, for example. This is a minor example, and doesn't encapsulate my current thoughts about the present year recently finished, but it really highlights some of my frustration and state of delirium over where we are at and where we really should be. I will be the first one to tell you that I understand the value and benefits of recess, of unstructured play, of time off and weekends and holiday trips and extended time with family and friends. I also knew the rewards of summer "down-time" to go exploring, camping, traveling, and learning.
Yes, even learning.
But right there is part of the problem.
And it's a big one.
It's where I get stuck.
Let me elaborate by breaking down my own summer vacations when I was a teenager. My mom and dad were divorced. My dad lived in California, as did my grandparents and my aunt - his parents and sister. Summer was the only time my brother and I were able to see this part of our family, and couldn't wait until summer so that we could spend three solid weeks out in sunny CA. It was the best time of our lives, what we looked forward to the most, and where we created the memories that will last a lifetime.
And I'm conflicted, because it was also the time when the most learning took place. I'm conflicted because, for starters, I think having three months of summer vacation sends the message to kids that learning can take a short, sweet break over the months of June, July and August, and that soon enough "real schooling" will resume again.
And yet, the stuff I remember most came from my summer vacations with my brother and dad and grandparents out on the West Coast.
The stuff I remember the most.
I need to repeat that and let it sink in.
Why is that the stuff I remember the most?
What is it about school and "learning" and memory that causes a thing like summer vacation - three months of the year - to have a longer lasting impact on a life (in many cases, not all) than an academic year - nine months of the year.
I'm just reflecting here. I realize perfectly well that what I've just done is conflict my own narrative. And there's a perfectly good reason for this. It's part of my summer wonderings and reflections and thoughts about the year and about education and where it takes place most powerfully and why we can't create that thing all year round.
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