Have you ever pondered what exactly it is that your teachers do over Christmas break? I know that I have! In order to satisfy my curiosity, I asked 34 BHS staff about how they spend their Christmas Break. With some results expected and some unexpected, I hope the staff’s responses remind you that these staff members are real people; they don’t just exist in the classroom.
Where will you be spending most of your break?
The majority of those who are traveling are going up north within Michigan. Some staff are seeking warmer weather in places like Tennessee or North Carolina, while some members will be in a more tropical location like Mr. Fritz who is going to the Dominican Republic! However, Assistant Principal Mrs. Julius is going on quite the adventure this Christmas break.
In response to what she will be doing this Christmas break, Mrs. Julius responded, “Prior to COVID, every single winter break for two weeks my husband and I would go to one to two new countries. And then COVID hit, and obviously, we could not fly internationally anymore, so we ended up getting a sprinter van and building it out with a bed, and a kitchen, and all the supplies, electrical, solar panel, and we started traveling the country with our dog and we would just go for two weeks. We are big skiers, so we would hit lots of different ski places out west, and then eventually make it to California. We would then stay there on the beach for a few days with the dog, which is always really fun. We ended up loving the van life, and so we do it every break now!” Mrs. Julius described that her favorite part of this adventure is “the fact that you can go anywhere and do anything you want. There are sometimes when we will be close to a national park, and we don’t realize it, but we can just pull over and camp there for a night if we want to. You can be really spontaneous, and you don’t know where it’s going to take you. We might be in Colorado and supposed to go to Utah, but then we can just decide to go to Idaho instead. We are able to just do that, and we already have a place to stay, eat, and cook, and it’s really fun for us to not know where the trip will take us!”
The most common favorites about break among the staff are seeing friends and family, relaxing, and most of all, catching up on sleep!
Do you host festivities?
Out of the staff that host festivities, I asked what the best thing and the most stressful part of hosting is. Majority of the highlights of hosting is being able to spend time with their families, and the majority of the stress comes from cleaning up after everyone leaves. Out of the answers, one in particular stood out to me. Mrs. Walters described that her favorite part of hosting is when her “Grandma’s crazy stories entertain me while I cook”, and the most stressful thing is “Making sure nothing catches fire while I’m distracted by Grandma’s crazy stories”.
Do you give homework over break?
The overwhelming total of none of the teachers at Berkley High School assigning homework made me question why exactly that is. I talked with AP World History and AP European History Mrs. Blackwell to hear her reasoning for this.
“I don’t give homework over Christmas Break because I feel that students deserve a break. They worked hard and they deserve to spend time with friends and family and to relax,” Blackwell stated. “Hopefully, it gives them a chance to have some downtime and do some things that they enjoy. It gives them a break from school!”
Do you grade for school over break?
While the majority do not grade over break, a select few teachers spend an enormous amount of time grading student work. Mrs. Vivian spends 10-12 hours grading, Mrs. Walters spends around 20 hours grading, and Mr. Austermann spends a whopping 20-30 hours grading. While students are given a true “break” during break, teachers are often left with a backlog of work that eats into their time off. This data undoubtedly proves that teachers are making sacrifices. Students, make sure to thank your teachers for the time and hard work they put into your education!
