Your Brain on Spring Break

     My school has a week off for Spring Break this week and that got me thinking about the question of whether time off is helpful or hurtful to student learning. I remembered a few weeks ago as I was taking a long drive, a decision came to me from out of the blue. It was something that I was not even thinking about, or contemplating, I was in fact dealing with a much bigger issue. But there was this big decision that I knew I needed to make, and I just knew it was the right thing to do. Then during this break I spent two days on the couch resting, and thinking, and some more resting and thinking. To an outsider this may seem completely unproductive, lazy, and useless. After two days though, something suddenly occurred to me and it was so crystal clear. We need breaks from the day to day for our mind to allow space to find connections, solve problems, and to be creative.
     We know that kids need breaks in the classroom, so do adults. We can work effectively and productively for a certain period of time, but then we need to take a break, even if it is a quick one. Why should it be so hard to understand that people and kids also need extended breaks, real vacations, and time to recoup and relax? One reason might be because we worry that things won't get done, or we may fall behind on work, or a critical issue will pop up. Whatever the logic or reasoning may be, taking time off to relax and recharge is absolutely necessary and should be taken just as seriously as work itself. Your brain works very hard for you day in and day out, especially with the continuous streams of technology that our brain has to process, such as twitter tweets and Facebook posts. Our brains are on overload.
      According to the NYT article here Press Reset on your Brain the brain works in different modes depending on whether it is actively engaged in a task, or not actively engaged, such as mind wandering, or daydreaming mode. The article suggests that the mind wandering or daydreaming mode allows the brain to make connections it would not have otherwise made, which in turn can lead to solving problems, being creative, finding a cure for a disease, or inventing something new. Huh? I guess that is why I was able to solve some problems while sitting on the couch resting! The brain is a magnificent and beautiful part of the human body. Having some understanding of the way our brains work can help us as teachers support our students by taking the breaks we need to be the best we can be, and allowing our students the downtime they need to process, let their minds wander, and grow. So now as far as Spring Break and my students' learning...will they forget some things that I taught them? They probably will. But will their brains come back reset, recharged, and able to take in new learning? I think so.