Summer Vacation
Posted on May 20, 2009
With the prospect of summer vacation so close at hand, the discussion among the students now is focused on how they intend to spend the months of June and July. With the start of vacation this coming week the summer expanse appears endless … yet in just a few months the common theme will be, “where did the time go?” Obviously, this is a common lament for us all. School graduation is a right-of-passage that provides an opportunity to pause and to reflect on where the time went.
There is a standard teaching technique employed when instructors attempt to help students realize that decision-making requires an ethical-moral component and not merely situational thought. An oral dilemma is stated which reveals only small bits of information, just small slices of time, prior to calling for a decision. With no reason to suspect that further information (the future) will be dissimilar to that which has already been revealed, students respond quickly, never suspecting that their chosen action plan should have been broadened by more complex thought. Eventually the class becomes adept at probing the hidden realms of the dialog before making choices as they learn to better balance their decision making.
Time management too requires careful thought. Each day, and of course the summer vacation is no exception, provides a block of time for carving. If we are to avoid the feeling so often expressed today, “I didn’t have time,” we need to plan ahead for each day. Many have expressed this with the thought that we should live as if it is today is both our first day and our last day. I would encourage a slightly different technique. Approach your choices by asking, if you knew now, what you will know when the time is gone, how would you choose to spend this day? I hope you will find refreshment in each moment of the summer ahead!
