Leisure without study is death - a tomb for the living person (Seneca)

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I've written about continuing to study during the two week break before Term 4 a lot over the years. It remains a thing!

Here's a reminder (this was from a post in 2022):

There is no substitute for focused work when it comes to preparation for exams.

Our two week study break is coming to an end and students will have two heavily disrupted weeks to finish their preparations at school. Then they are on their own.

There are plenty of good tips out there for how to prepare for exams, like this article from Edutopia. But unless a student decides to commit to study and then use these kinds of techniques to focus on what they have learned and then be able to apply that to exam questions they won't do themselves justice.

Bottom line: commitment and focused preparation are musts.

Empathy

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We have a two week study break now until John Lennon's birthday rolls around. So until then you'll be getting some stop gap favourite quotes.

Here's today's quote that I'm pondering:

When things don’t work, it’s not helpful to try to minimize the impact. In fact, you’re far more likely to make progress if you remind the customer just how much it mattered to you to get it right, and how you feel about letting them down.

Empathy is a first step toward connection.

Seth Godin

Make your vocation your vacation. That is the secret to success (Mark Twain)

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For once I've been able to clear the decks of work so that I can enjoy my study break, rather than leave things hanging until the end of the break - my usual method.

That means my marking is up to date and feedback has been sent to my students; details of a health and safety incident in the last week have been completed; preparations and planning for the start of Term 3 have been sorted for my class and the supervision of students at my campus; and my email inbox is down to single figures.

That's a great feeling. I can head off on holiday now without that nagging suspicion that I have stuff to do.

No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks (Alice Cooper)

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School is out for a two week study break.

This is where teachers reconnect with the wider world.

As Seth Godin says in his recent post What did you learn on vacation?:

It always seemed like a silly question–school is for doing what you’re told, summer vacation was for discovering all the things that were worth caring about.

As adults though, regardless of our hemisphere, we’re always on vacation from school. No tests or diplomas, simply a huge array of choices.

Hurray!! An array of choices! I love that idea.

It always takes a few days to adjust (like rock stars coming back home after a tour) and there are so many choices it's a bit overwhelming for a start.

Mine started on Saturday with finally finishing Nicholas Nickleby (see Wozza's Place for more on this this week), watching some Netflix, playing Monopoly Deal with Jacky and listening to a few Blood Sweat and Tears' albums for a blog post.

All good choices I feel.

What's next?

 

Motivation is what gets you started (Jim Ryun)

Last week we bid farewell to the senior students - off on study leave for the NCEA External Examinations.

It's been a tough few weeks as we've sought to motivate them to create study plans, complete practice essays, and have a revision programme in place.

The extrinsic and intrinsic motivations that are in play during the three terms that concentrate on Internal Achievement Standards, don't appear to apply to the Externals.

We need a rethink!

Interestingly, it seems the opposite is true in the northern hemisphere, affected by lock-downs and Covid-19 disruptions. There teachers are struggling to motivate students because there aren't exams! 

This (what motivates students and how we sustain and adapt for different circumstances) will be my Teacher Inquiry for 2021!

No more working for a week or two (Cliff Richard)

School holidays and time for some levity courtesy of the brilliant Rowan Atkinson as the school master. Never gets old!