{"id":4322,"date":"2017-05-16T13:20:35","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T20:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/?p=4322"},"modified":"2017-05-16T18:05:31","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T01:05:31","slug":"the-trouble-with-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/2017\/05\/16\/the-trouble-with-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trouble with Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

We finished our Spring semester a little over a week ago. \u00a0Graduation came and went… We had our final, full faculty meeting of the academic year. Grades were submitted.<\/p>\n

Summer is Here (Sort of)<\/h3>\n

My mind and body haven't made the shift over to summertime yet. Part of that is because I still have some work-related commitments to attend to… An academic retreat, some departmental hiring decisions meetings, and participation\u00a0in a visit from an external reviewer.<\/p>\n

Part of my not being entirely sure what season I'm in is because it can be difficult to shift into an entirely new way of working.<\/p>\n

I'm writing a book this summer. My time is being steered by Pacemaker<\/a>, a writing word-count web service, as well as a time tracker called Timing<\/a> that watches what I do on the computer (and even when I leave the computer's side) and asks me to account for that time. But, I haven't quite gotten in a groove yet that has me at my most productive. I find myself looking at clutter that didn't bother me during the academic year, but has me convinced that I ought to overhaul our pantry, or perhaps re-organize my entire home office.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Timing App gives an overview of how my time is spent on and off the computer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By no means am I complaining. I find such joy in teaching and am already missing the pace of the semester. Sometimes.<\/p>\n

After bawling through John Warner's post on his “Last” Class in The Chronicle<\/a>, I was all that much more aware of the joy that I find in having a tenured position at a university. It wasn't like John\u00a0just gave up all of the sudden, but has chronicled his difficulties in the past<\/a>. It was strange to experience that kind of sadness over someone whose class I never sat in, or ever even met.<\/p>\n

Another recent post that brought me to tears was Sean Michael Morris' writing about what his Dad taught him about teaching<\/a>. He writes:<\/p>\n

To teach, we must believe in the potential of each person in the room. Unwaveringly. This is not to say we don\u2019t get to have our bad days, our off days, the days when we really can\u2019t stand to talk to another student or plan another lesson. But it does mean that we teach for a reason, and that reason lies in what lies in the heart of a student. What lay in our hearts when we were students. Hope despair melancholy desire passion hunger confusion. All the things it takes to learn to walk. All the things it takes to learn to do anything. All the things it takes to live in Los Angeles, or to love someone who is hard to love.” – Sean Michael Morris<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I started reading Stephen Brookfield's book: Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher<\/a>. Brookfield asserts that if we commit ourselves to critical reflection, we will receive the following benefits:<\/p>\n