Spring Break began yesterday with a plane trip to Florida to enjoy some golf, take a short trip to Disney with the kids, and simply relax and get away from school for a while. I'm sure many educators look forward to the break to unwind, recharge, and simply remove themselves from the daily grind of school. For the first time in a while, I can't seem to get away. Thanks to the wonderful world of technology, I CAN"T get away. I'm finding myself checking Twitter messages several times a day. I'm reading blogs way too much - I know they'll still be there when I get back. I'm writing. I'm finishing up a grad paper that I have to turn in today. It's only the second day and I'm hoping this won't continue the rest of vacation.

Perhaps it can be looked at as a positive. Over the past several weeks, my professional learning environment has grown. I'm learning a few things- like how Twitter can be addictive. I've discovered a few new blogs. While I'm always interested in learning new things and sharing what I know with others, I'm wondering how much I should let it control my daily activity. Much of this is exciting and good, but only in moderation.

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this. Have you been able to get away? Do you even want to? Is your Spring Break really a break? I'd like to hear thoughts and suggestions!

Don't laugh, we are. Sure, there are challenges we face everyday - NCLB, crazy students, crazy parents, crazy administrators, etc. Everyone faces challenges in the workplace, but teachers are lucky in one particular area. We get built in breaks in our year to not only help us with the stress and workload of the job, but also a chance to get away from the students. They also get to get away from us for a bit. In addition to breaks like Spring Break, we get to start over every fall. While many of the job responsibilities are the same, we get fresh new faces to mold again.

Almost everyone is eager for a new school year to begin. Sure, we don't want summer to end and neither do the students, but you can't ignore the sense of excitement that exists with the start of a new school year and the questions it brings. What will your students be like? The students wonder what their teacher will be like? What will the administration pile on our plates this year? Who are the new teachers? I can't think of any other profession that has an excitement like this every year. We get to recharge over the summer, learn more about our profession, and enjoy some time "off." Most other jobs and careers just keep going. One project leads to another, one month to the next. We have something to look forward to - June! Others, they have nothing to look forward to. We can count on breaks throughout the year to give us the much needed 3 R's - rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. You know as well as I do how much we look forward to Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, Spring Break, and Summer Break. Does any other job have that luxury? I don't think so.

Why am I writing this now? Sure, it seems that this entry would make more sense some other time of the year. Well, since I'm in the middle of Spring Break, I'm recharging. This break is going to help me come back to school soon with a fresh outlook and a willingness to know that there is only about 1/4 of the school year left to accomplish a lot. However, while there's still work to do, knowing that we are lucky to have breaks to help us make it through these times makes it just a little easier.

While you are complaining, as I sometimes do, about unruly students, too low pay, piles and piles of work, NCLB demands, and the rest of the stuff that often bogs us down, keep in mind that while I'm wrapping up Spring Break in the next week, and you may have already, the next big break will be here in no time and we can start this wonderful career all over again next fall!

I have been very jealous of Rookie Teacher, Learn Me Good, Education in Texas, and the many, many others who have talked about Spring Break, March Break, and whatever else people call this much needed time of the year. Well, for me, the time has finally come.

I actually planned on writing a quick blog about things I was looking forward to as Spring Break was arriving, but then I got busy with a variety of things and never finished it. Well, Spring Break started yesterday and the first thing I did when I woke up at 3:30 am was to get to the airport and catch a 6:00 am flight to Florida. While many people are already back to school after break, mine is just starting. I'll be relaxing with my wife and her parents for a week without my kids. They are staying with my parents and thanks to video chatting, I'll be able to talk to them just enough to get my fix!

I brought my laptop for just that reason, but wished my in-laws had a wireless network set up so I could sit out on the patio and catch up on some blogs I've been missing. In fact, I actually thought about buying the hardware myself just I could use it this weel. Well, what a surprise when I logged on this morning and found out that one of their neighbors does indeed have a wireless connection! Currently, I'm enjoying their network, but not on the patio - the signal is a little too weak. Oh well - at least I didn't have to unplug their computer and deal with all of that.

Anyway, here's what I plan on doing the next 7 days while I'm on vacation:

1. Play golf - played a round today and have at least 3 more rounds scheduled.
2. Relax - I don't plan on thinking about school at all since I wrapped up all of the ordering for the current school year and now will wait for hundreds of books to arrive in several weeks.
3. Shop - yes, I like to do it - there's a great outlet mall here!
4. Go out to dinner and see some movies. Without the kids, my wife and I will have a chance to enjoy some time together without having to worry about a babysitter or taking the kids with us.
5. Relax - did I say that already?

So, while many of you are back at school, refreshed from your break, I'm just starting mine and hope to return to school on the 16th as refreshed as you and looking forward to June 15th when summer begins!