Spring Break: A Time to Reflect

So who am I kidding; a time to reflect? Perhaps not for the students who are off to sunny climes for a week of revelry. Then again, many St. Mike's students devote their Spring break to working through the MOVE service learning program on wonderful projects such as Habitat for Humanity and other similar enterprises. In fact, many of my faculty colleagues accompany groups of students to inner-city Philadelphia and other places around the country helping make housing more comforable for those in need.

For me it is a time to reflect upon my semester so far. I look at my courses and take stock of what we have accomplished in terms of the course content and student achievement. I also read my student teachers' mid-semester self-evaluations to get a sense of how realistically they see their growth and development as future teachers. As usual, my student teachers this term have a great sense of what they have achieved and what they yet have to do. This always makes the second half of the semester easier in terms of what is expected. They all have their solo weeks coming up within the next month which is always a time of great excitement and trepidation for them.

Spring break also coincides with the clocks "springing forward" which is also a sign that winter might be over, not that we've had much of a winter in Vermont this year with barely 30 inches of snow compared with the usual 100 plus. Perhaps I'll start planning my garden for this summer or putting the summer tires back on my car. Hmmmmm, maybe not; we could still get socked with a nor-easter.