Day 4: There Never Seems to Be Enough Time to Do the Things You Want to Do

A theme of my most recently composed talk “Here There Be Dragons: Sailing off the Edge into the New World of Education,” are the many obstacles that keep us from making the fundamental changes to school that we know we should. One of these is hitting me in the face both internally and externally during these December days, the limitations of the school year. The structure of the school year is uniquely designed to resist any consistent effort at change, and in some ways we are set up for failure before we begin.

Let me explain. Teachers return in August full of energy and new ideas. Most figure, just give me a few weeks for me an the students to get settled, and then we can get serious about planning. However, mid-September is often the hottest time of the year in Southern California. Survival is more important than fundamental change. At the high school level this is exacerbated by the football season, the most disruptive of sports in terms of time, energy, and attendance. So things get pushed back…we’ll start in October.

However, early in October, a force that is stronger than any teacher’s intentions or will hits with full force: HALLOWEENTHANKSGIVINGCHRISTMAS. Holidays are so closely built into the DNA of schools that beginning October 1, there is a progressive disengagement on the part of students and teachers. Few schools have parent meetings in December that aren’t gathered around singing angels, shepherds, and wise men. Most schools cut faculty meetings to a minimum, some have none at all. Innovation dies as the year comes to an end filled with promises and good intentions for the next year.

I’ve been experiencing it (and feeling it) myself. Despite the fact that there are three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and despite the fact that these are actually less busy than the rest of the year, I have to fight to keep working on things. It is too easy to fall into procrastination (always a good friend of mine). I have na important meeting next Friday, and I found myself thinking, “too close to the holiday…should reschedule). I’m not the solution, I’m part of the problem.

I’m running late tonight, so I’m going to break this into two. Tomorrow I’ll talk about what happens after that anticipated new year.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Wooden_hourglass_2.jpg