Each week, an educator takes a stand or shares an Aha! classroom moment in the Education World Voice of Experience series. In this column, educator Kathleen Modenbach faces the end of a sabbatical year and her imminent return to the classroom. Sure we're in the midst of a teacher shortage, but the benefits of giving teachers sabbatical leave far outweigh the drawbacks, Modenbach says. Included: Are sabbaticals a waste of valuable time or a valuable tool for refreshing and retaining teachers? Join the discussion!
Summer break for teachers seems to be shorter than ever. Even when we
had a full three months off, I never went on vacation until I had been
away from school for at least two weeks. I needed those two weeks to peel
off the school year and get to know myself again.
Now, more than ever, I know that summer break is not enough time to
recharge. You see, I had the good fortune to spend the past year on a
sabbatical leave from teaching. Despite all the red tape I had to un-stick
in order to get my sabbatical approved, I know that its gift of time was
beneficial to me -- and to the students I'll be teaching this year.
I requested my sabbatical leave last March. At first, I was unable to
get the leave approved. School officials wouldn't approve a sabbatical
so I could spend time writing. (Imagine, an English teacher who might
want to write!) They did approve the request, however, when I decided
I would use the time to take four graduate computer classes.
Kathleen Modenbach is about to return to the classroom after
a one-year sabbatical. She returns refreshed and eager to
get back at it. She's also eager to make a case for maintaining
sabbatical leaves for teachers! Does your school have a policy
regarding sabbatical leaves? Do you see the value in them?
Are you one of the lucky teachers who has taken one? Click
here
to share your thoughts!
During the sabbatical period, I received 65 percent of my salary and
full benefits. (Some communities offer leave with no pay, others offer
full pay.) Before you call me "lucky," consider that teacher pay in Louisiana
ranks near the bottom of the Southern average!
Most teachers pass on sabbaticals. Many worry about living on partial
salary during the sabbatical period. Others fear they might never want
to return to the classroom. But I feel more eager to return to the classroom
than ever. I am eager to try out so many new ideas!
The new ideas I'm excited to try out never would have surfaced during
a summer break. So much of summer break time is spent winding down and
catching up. Sure, we all have moments of summertime inspiration, but
the short summer never seems to allow time to examine and re-examine those
inspirations from all perspectives.
My sabbatical year afforded me time to learn how to use PowerPoint,
HyperStudio, Site Central, and many other multimedia programs. It also
provided time to discuss technology with professors and other teachers
and to rethink my old ways of doing things. For example, this year I will
totally revamp the way I teach my students' senior research project. This
year, my students will use technology to help build their thesis statements
and they will justify their statements using a multimedia format as well
as a written format.
I also had time during the sabbatical period to think about my students'
reactions to some of my standard assignments. This year, I'll drop some
lessons and rearrange others. The result will be a curriculum that better
fits my re-thought perceptions of my students.
Sabbatical is all about having time to think and do. When I think back,
I spent five hours registering for the computer classes I took. As inconvenient
as it was, imagine doing that after school!
I also had a one-hour drive -- 30 minutes each way -- to my twice-weekly
classes. Think about that at the end of a long school day!
Because I had the time, I was able to carpool with two other teachers,
which saved driving time and money, while giving the three of us an opportunity
to bounce ideas around, to reflect on those ideas, and to take them to
the next level.
Isn't time the thing teachers crave most? A teacher's day is dictated
by bells. Bells signal the start and end of classes. Bells signal the
end of an all-too-short lunch break. No bells rang while I was on sabbatical;
there was time to think and grow.
My sabbatical provided time for me to attend to the minutia of life.
I had time to make about 20 calls to the university to complain that I
didn't owe them for a book my class never used. I had time to have lunch
with friends -- in real restaurants. I had time to do more volunteer work
at church. I had time to write poetry.
A sabbatical is all about time. Mine gave me the personal time
to step off the education treadmill, to examine myself and my teaching,
and to reflect on how my life fits into the big picture. My sabbatical
was a gift, a gift that will benefit me and the system I'll return to
this fall.
Kathleen Modenbach is an English teacher for St. Tammany
Parish Schools in Louisiana. She teaches at Northshore High
School and writes for The Times Picayune in New Orleans.
Each week, an educator takes a stand or shares an Aha! classroom moment in the Education World Voice of Experience series. In this column, educator Kathleen Modenbach faces the end of a sabbatical year and her imminent return to the classroom. Sure we're in the midst of a teacher shortage, but the benefits of giving teachers sabbatical leave far outweigh the drawbacks, Modenbach says. Included: Are sabbaticals a waste of valuable time or a valuable tool for refreshing and retaining teachers? Join the discussion!
Summer break for teachers seems to be shorter than ever. Even when we
had a full three months off, I never went on vacation until I had been
away from school for at least two weeks. I needed those two weeks to peel
off the school year and get to know myself again.
