Dead silence. No music or talking. That’s what I yearn for at the end of my teaching day. I use my thirty-minute commute, mostly on a long stretch of an uneventful highway to decompress and to reflect on my day. I find this end of day ritual necessary for my brain to rest after being in a busy environment where I try to remain focused on many things and people simultaneously. I leave my car somewhat refreshed and ready to take on the other parts of my life.
Maybe my desire for quiet is generational. I have a history with silence. It was expected during many aspects of my childhood and schooling. I played with toys that made no sound except those that I initiated. I used to shop in stores without music blasting. I can even remember being put on hold without music or announcements when phoning a business.
While teaching, I try to bring moments of silence to the attention of my students. Their young lives seem so filled with busy sounds and noise. They will be faced with more distractions and stimulus than I was. I wish for them to have some quiet time to think and reflect, and to appreciate the sound of silence.
One day a week I commute for classes about an hour each day. While I initially dreaded the commute, I quickly discovered that I loved the time alone to think and reflect. I often do have music in the background though, but depending on the mood of the day I listen to a variety of genres - sometimes upbeat, other times calm, soothing classics.
ReplyDeleteI loved your first three sentences as a lead!
It is interesting to think about the desire for silence as being generational - our children are so barraged by sound these days.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of classrooms where I instituted peace time in the afternoons after recess. Everyone needs some quiet time and it's always good to encourage little ones to reflect, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSAS
Ahh...silence...my commute is shorter than yours but I often turn the radio off and just hear myself think.
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