One of the great rites of spring is the opening of the spring sports season. Baseball is part of a yearly renewal and optimism; even Charlie Brown feels in spring that his team will, this year, win a game.
Baseball is filled with ritual and tradition. One of them is the "Seventh Inning Stretch" that occurs in the middle of the seventh inning.
The school year has its own seventh inning stretch...Spring Break. Like the baseball stretch, spring break gives us a time to let go of the stresses of the school days; release energy, relax, or reset the mind by doing something different for a week. The difficulty of this, however, is students tend to focus on the upcoming break and letting down before the stretch. In many small ways, students begin to focus on spring rather than their studies. It is a most common trend to see students who have had successful grades early in the year, let down, and have great difficulty in finishing the school year strong. Then, instead of the intensity being renewed after the break, focus is lost as the end of the year comes into view.
There are many things that parents and students can do at this time to maintain their intensity in school. First, spring does not mean that the dress code is suspended. Parents and students should make sure that they are dressed appropriately for school. Secondly, students should keep to established routines, like doing homework at the same time/place each day. Breaking successful routines will contribute to the let down.
Final quarter grades can be somewhat more important than first semester. These grades are examined for next year's placement in courses, determine the need for summer school intervention, or are needed for eligibility for end of the year awards, trips, etc.
Head into spring and spring break with rededication and optimism. Then, let's take a stretch and use it to come back ready to play ball.
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