The Last Wednesday in Music Therapy for the Regular School Year

Today is my last Wednesday for the 2022-2023 regular school session.

Thank all things good and decent!

Next Wednesday is a work day, but it is field day so it doesn't really count. I have five groups today. Two of the five will be playing brass instruments. The other three have already played so they will get another opportunity to try and then we will be doing some free movement and singing therapeutic music experiences - some silliness in our interactions. I have one group tomorrow (we have one pod on a field trip and the other group I have will be interrupted by a concert). Friday will be a regular day, Monday will be a regular day, and then Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be different schedules. We will go to the district breakfast (for the first time in over 15 years!) and have a bit of training before we head out for our week away.

I do not get a summer break like most teachers. I get paid for the extra days that I work every year, but I do not get time to rest the way I need to. I find that it takes me about two weeks to do all the home things that I want to do, and it takes three weeks to become completely bored and more than ready to head out to my job again. Our calendar does not give us these types of breaks anymore.

So, I will head off into a week of resting. That will not be enough time to get things done around here. It will not be enough time to feel like I am excited about working again. It will not be enough time to do anything except nap extravagantly and make lists - lots of lists. I will head back into our first summer session and want more vacation. That is usually what happens when we don't have much of a break.

I understand why we have shorter breaks these days - it is rough to keep a group of kids entertained when there is a change in structure - but there are times when the staff members need more opportunities to get refreshed and prepared for the rigors of this job. I wonder if the school district would approve a staggered time off system. I would love to skip the week we have around the 4th of July if I could get more time off at the end of summer or at the beginning of summer. I need sustained amounts of time - not more weeks off. The time would be the same, just rearranged a bit.

Since I am not in charge of the calendar, I just think about these things as an exercise. I enjoy thinking of ways to do things differently - not because things are wrong the way they are, but because "different" expands our options. At this point, I am thinking about break, so that's what my brain focuses on. Break, break, break.

This is the last regular Wednesday of the regular school session. Last week was bad. Let's hope that this Wednesday will be better...


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