Learning from Leisure

According to a report by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a teacher’s average workday is 10 hours and 40 minutes.  This includes an average of 7 hours, 20 minutes of required school hours; 1 hour, 42 minutes at school, before and after school; and another 1 hour, 35 minutes working at home.  This time outside of school hours is typically spent on lesson planning, returning parent emails, grading assignments, and professional development. The profession of teaching has become a difficult job to navigate in today’s climate, but the faculty at Great Hearts continue their pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty throughout the long hours and hectic schedules.

Great Hearts Arizona recently held the 2023 Spring In-Service Day, where students were given the afternoon off and our faculty and staff were given educational opportunities as well as some much-needed mental health activities.  “The Spring In-Service is our opportunity to foster a love of learning and community outside of the classroom and interact with colleagues in leisurely learning,” said Amy Gottry, the Regional Manager of Professional Development for Great Hearts Academies. Gottry was responsible for organizing this massive event with over 1,340 participants spread all over the Phoenix Metro Area.

Faculty and staff were given many options to choose from to make the most of this designated time. In addition to several training opportunities at various campuses, the in-service offered activities to spend leisurely time with colleagues through good conversation and inspirational locations throughout the Valley.

The Cicero, Anthem, and Roosevelt campuses offered trainings in Arts & Language, such as Shakespeare and the Moral Imagination, Latin for Latin Teachers, Language Games and Resources, and Oedipus and Co.: The Value of Greek Drama; and seminars in Poetry, Mark Twain’s “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, and other literary works. Cicero and Anthem also offered Science. Maryvale offered training for middle school math teachers and Veritas offered math training for 4^th and 5^th grade teachers.

Pickleball, volleyball, and bucketball (yes, bucketball) games were organized and played in the gymnasiums and enjoyed by many of our more competitively-natured staff.

Other sites included the Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix Zoo, Arizona Science Center, Desert Botanical Garden, Heard Museum, and the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary.  Hiking opportunities were offered at the Sunrise Trail at McDowell Sonoran Conservancy in Scottsdale, the Circumference Trail to Ridgeline Trail Loop at Deem Hills Park, and the Turnbuckle Trail (or the Turnbuckle Skyline Loop) at the Skyline Mountain Regional Park in Buckeye. The weather couldn’t have been better for the moderate hikes where the participants enjoyed the natural views along with each other’s company.

Gottry received an email from one of the faculty members that attended the in-service that read, “… I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for organizing this outing.  I have great difficulties taking time out for leisure and being pushed outside for an entire afternoon on such a gorgeous day was just what I needed, even though I didn’t know it – given the chance, I would probably have used the time to grade essays. Thanks again.”

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org