The Day-to-Day Grind

Russian writer Anton Chekov once observed, “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.” As teachers, we all understand the mid-year, mid-winter slump, the winter “blahs.” Since our vocation is cyclical, we always have a change of pace just over the horizon: a long weekend, spring break, summer vacation, and, now and then, an unexpected change in the CPS calendar! However, the real solution to the day-to-day grind is not making it to the next break, but making the most of each day life provides us. Our lives can be treadmills or they can be adventures; it all depends on how we approach the challenges presented us. Every hour of every day, we are given opportunities to change the lives of young people and help, through them, to build a better future for all of us. We are blessed with amazing colleagues with whom we can share these adventures. In the immortal words of Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes), “There’s adventure around every corner!”

"A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. You may adopt all of the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states, and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities, and corporations. The fate of humanity is in his hands." Abraham Lincoln