{"id":3479,"date":"2017-09-18T11:13:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T18:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insideout.insidewp.test\/?p=3479"},"modified":"2025-02-22T14:06:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T22:06:46","slug":"my-kind-of-rhythm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2017\/09\/18\/my-kind-of-rhythm\/","title":{"rendered":"MY KIND OF RHYTHM"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY: SALLY VAN GEEST, GRADE 6 TEACHER<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not a musical person. I can\u2019t clap to the beat, piano lessons were lost on me, I never learned to play the recorder, and I just don\u2019t get rhythm.<\/p>\n

Musical rhythm, that is.<\/p>\n

What I do understand is the rhythm of the school year.<\/p>\n

It flows through me and frames my life \u2013 my memories and experiences, my work and play.<\/p>\n

I have been participating in the ritual of school since I was four years old. Yes, that is a very long time. In fact, it is probably fair to say that I do not really recall life without school.<\/p>\n

September through June, September through June\u2026September through May\u2026September through June, September through June, and so on.<\/p>\n

Year after year the familiar pattern plays out.<\/p>\n

First, as a student, and now, for many years as an educator, the 10-2 cadence runs through my existence.<\/p>\n

Anticipation, excitement, nerves<\/span><\/h2>\n

I just love the newness of a school year but really, after 47 first days, why do I still get butterflies?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Relief, comfort, contentment<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ah, the sweet spot! I like routine, organization, and I absolutely love learning. What better place to be than in school?<\/p>\n

Busyness, stress, fatigue<\/span><\/h2>\n

So much to do, so little time. That, or I\u2019m just very skilled at procrastination!<\/strong> <\/span>There always comes a time when I become overwhelmed with something and I just get tired. Possibly that is now more a symptom than when I was eleven years old, but it is certainly a part of my reality nowadays.<\/p>\n

Anticipation, joy, freedom<\/span><\/h2>\n

As much as I love learning and teaching, the promise of a change in the rhythm dangles in front of me like a treat just out of my reach. Finally (or so it seems), I grab hold of the reward.<\/p>\n

SUMMER!<\/span><\/h2>\n

No alarm clocks, no bells, no schedules.<\/p>\n

Slow mornings, late nights.<\/p>\n

Time to read, time to visit with family and friends, time to explore this world.<\/p>\n

Rest for the mind, rest for the body.<\/p>\n

The interlude of summer allows for a break from the ritual of the school rhythm.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s all it is \u2013 intermission.<\/p>\n

Restlessness, fidgetiness, boredom<\/span> (Dare I say it?)<\/h2>\n

Almost every summer there comes a point when I crave a return to routine. I begin to see many summer experiences as springboards to new lessons in the next school year<\/strong>.<\/span> It\u2019s happened \u2013 I\u2019m ready. I love my summers, but I also love the work that I do! It\u2019s the rhythm that makes sense of me.<\/p>\n

Anticipation, excitement, nerves<\/span><\/h2>\n

It starts all over again!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY: SALLY VAN GEEST, GRADE 6 TEACHER I am not a musical person. I can\u2019t clap to the beat, piano lessons were lost on me, I never learned to play the recorder, and I just don\u2019t get rhythm. Musical rhythm, that is. What I do understand is the rhythm of the school year. It flows […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":3482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,34],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-3479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-middle-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=3479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}