Time Well Spent

What does it mean to "waste" time? As we rush through our busy weeks, we often divide our days into time spent productively and time wasted. But when you look a little closer, all time is simply being spent. The distinction between "wasting" and "investing" time is not always about the activity itself. Much of it depends on our perspective and how we choose to value the experience. Take my recent weekend, for example.

I took a long road trip to Flagstaff, Arizona, to watch my daughter perform with the Buchanan High School Band. Some might look at hours of driving as a waste of a weekend. For me, it was pure joy. I spent those hours watching the landscape change, enjoying the steady rhythm of the highway, and soaking in the anticipation of watching her perform. I was not trying to get somewhere faster. I was not checking something off a list. I was simply present. That did not feel like wasted time. It felt like time well spent. 

On the way back, we stopped at the Grand Canyon. We only stayed for about 30 minutes. We stood near the edge, completely speechless, staring at that massive, majestic hole in the ground. Thirty minutes is almost nothing in the course of a week. It is barely a blip on a calendar. But I will remember those 30 minutes.

That is the strange thing about time. We cannot hoard it. We cannot save it for later. We cannot store up an extra Tuesday and use it when life slows down. It just keeps moving. What we can do is decide what matters while it is passing. And that leads me to a question. Isn't that part of our goal as educators?

We spend a great deal of time talking about instructional minutes, pacing guides, assessments, interventions, standards, and all the things students need to learn. Those things matter. They absolutely matter. But we are also building memories.

Think back on your own formal education. Chances are, you do not remember most of the tests you took. You probably do not remember every assignment, every worksheet, or every struggle along the way. But you remember people. You remember laughter. You remember the teacher who made you feel capable. You remember the field trip. You remember the class that felt like a family. You remember the moment everyone laughed so hard that the lesson stopped for a minute. You remember how school made you feel. That is time well spent too.

Sometimes the moments that look least productive on paper become the moments students carry with them the longest. A conversation before class. A joke that breaks the tension. A few extra minutes spent listening. A celebration. A story. A moment when a student knows an adult genuinely sees them.

When I taught high school science, students would tell me the best day was the day after the midterm, which I called "Off the Subject Day." On that day, they could ask me any question, curriculum related or not. Yes, the conversation could go just about anywhere, but that was part of the fun. My job was to field the questions and provide strategically worded answers. Years later, that is one of the things students still remember.

Those moments are not distractions from our work. They are part of the work. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, once wrote, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." In simpler terms, the obstacle is the way. Sometimes the unexpected interruption, the detour, or the moment that was not in the lesson plan becomes the very thing a student remembers. I'll let you marinate on that one.

So this week, protect the important minutes. Teach well. Plan well. Use the time wisely. But do not become so focused on filling every minute that you miss the chance to make one memorable. Our students are spending part of their lives with us. Let us make certain some of that time becomes worth remembering.

Until next time...