A perusal of my posts on the topic of Spring Break reveals that I have discussed this excellent concept in a few contexts:
March 2009: my thoughts on the correspondence or lack thereof between my school-aged daughter's spring break vs. my university's spring break. Summary: I am happy when they don't coincide.
12 March 2010: a brief mention of the practical and emotional significance of spring break in the quarter vs. semester systems.
Also: A few scattered polls and discussions about whether we, as professors, do (and should) give an exam during the class immediately before (or immediately after) a break, and somewhere in the archives, I am pretty sure I discussed the issue of how advisors feel about students who use spring break for vacation vs. getting work done. I'm not all in the mood to revisit that topic today, but I do want to follow up on this:
8 March 2010: a poll to determine who will be off campus but working, off campus but not working, on campus and happily working, or on campus and unhappily working. This poll had separate parts for professors/postdocs and grad students. My vote was for 'on campus/happily working', and I would vote the same way this year. The 2010 results, based on 408 professor/postdoc votes and 279 grad student votes:
PROFESSORS/POSTDOCS
working: on campus/happy (44%), off campus (27%), on campus/not happy (17%);
not working: 12%
GRAD STUDENTS
working: on campus/happy (41%), off campus (23%), on campus/not happy (22%);
not working: 14%
So, the results turned out about the same for both groups. A lot of us work during spring break, most happily, BUT now I want to redo the poll, subdividing professors and postdocs. Who is toiling on campus and who is basking in Cancun (or their back yard)? Let's find out:
March 2009: my thoughts on the correspondence or lack thereof between my school-aged daughter's spring break vs. my university's spring break. Summary: I am happy when they don't coincide.
12 March 2010: a brief mention of the practical and emotional significance of spring break in the quarter vs. semester systems.
Also: A few scattered polls and discussions about whether we, as professors, do (and should) give an exam during the class immediately before (or immediately after) a break, and somewhere in the archives, I am pretty sure I discussed the issue of how advisors feel about students who use spring break for vacation vs. getting work done. I'm not all in the mood to revisit that topic today, but I do want to follow up on this:
8 March 2010: a poll to determine who will be off campus but working, off campus but not working, on campus and happily working, or on campus and unhappily working. This poll had separate parts for professors/postdocs and grad students. My vote was for 'on campus/happily working', and I would vote the same way this year. The 2010 results, based on 408 professor/postdoc votes and 279 grad student votes:
PROFESSORS/POSTDOCS
working: on campus/happy (44%), off campus (27%), on campus/not happy (17%);
not working: 12%
GRAD STUDENTS
working: on campus/happy (41%), off campus (23%), on campus/not happy (22%);
not working: 14%
So, the results turned out about the same for both groups. A lot of us work during spring break, most happily, BUT now I want to redo the poll, subdividing professors and postdocs. Who is toiling on campus and who is basking in Cancun (or their back yard)? Let's find out: