We were given an opportunity.
"Rise and Grind" How did we use it?
"Can't stop,
won't stop"
"You have as many hours
in a day as Beyonce"
Heard any of those before? Society tells us
that we are only worth as much as we give.
As written by Liz Kleinrock, ABAR Educator,
"we believe that busy is better, that our
worth is determined by our productivity.
Capitalism THRIVES on this mentality. If
we’re not producing 24/7, we are failing
ourselves and our potential."
And yet, there is a counter-offer. Central to
our well-being is our ability to slow down. As
a society we are seeing more and more
people reminding us that mental health is
as, if not more, important than financial
wealth. We cannot pour from an empty cup.
We cannot build an empire with an empty
throne. Niether can anyone else.
We were given an opportunity – 3 weeks with
a group of students for an intervention block
before rotating to another group. We had the
directive from administration to focus on
literacy and numeracy, but to listen to the
needs of our students above all else.
When asked if this intervention block should
be considered for a permanent place in our
day, many teachers agreed that while there is
"worth to the idea, the types of activities and
learning that occurs in this block should be
incorporated into all of their subjects."
Are we supporting our students? Are we
expecting them to complete even more work,
or are we giving them time to reflect, build
relationships or simply relax? Do we even
have the time to "give them time"?
The Resistance
Do you hear it? The voice in your head, telling
you that you must do more to be significant?
The voice telling you that taking time for
yourself is lazy and selfish? You don't have to
listen to it.
We know that we need to slow down. Burnout
rates are higher and higher amongst
professionals. Stress and anxiety in all people,
young and old, is through the roof. We know
this to be true, and we know that society has
glorified the over-extended, beyond
exhausted person. But it is so hard to change
the system. We want better for our students,
but we don't know how to bring about that
change. In our saturated lives, nurturing
mental wellbeing in our students can feel like
yet another seemingly impossible
expectation. But meditate on this:
Reimagine
productivity. It is
not exhaustion. It is
not grinding
yourself like a
machine. You are
not a machine. Rest
The Nap Ministry
Curriculum seems to be getting denser and
denser, and students are expected to learn
more and more. And yet, we know that we
need to slow down. This is challenging! How
do we balance the sheer volume of content
with the wellbeing of our students?

Ask yourself the following questions:

THE CHANCE TO

What do I want
students to get from
this?
Grind culture has a
fetish for seeing
human beings move at
the pace of a machine.
SLOW
It enjoys weary bodies Grind Culture
and limited
imagination. in Schools
Do I want quiet or do I
The Nap Ministry
want rest?

Is this to keep them

busy or keep them
learning?

Michayla Hochstein
Professional Inquiry Project 2020