Just wondering about sensible disconnections.

In our profession, collaboration has gone through some drastic evolution. When I started teaching in the UK in 2001, we were collaborating at school-not even in a meeting room but in the Head of Department’s classroom. It was THE place to talk about innovative practices, discuss what worked well with little Johnny that morning and share ideas and chocolate. Obviously, this model is still on but educators have embraced new tools to make more global connections.

During a four-day weekend, my family and I left Quito to visit some wonderful places in Ecuador. Since I feel that being connected is a need, especially from a professional standpoint, I bought a data plan for my phone so that I could read my emails in case our haciendas did not have internet. Bingo! But not only was there no wireless at all but the 3G was also completely unavailable. I had planned to be connected during the trip and we ended up in a region with no network whatsoever. I was therefore disconnected against my will and that just the way it was.

Thinking back, I knew I had done what I had to do before the trip. All things were in order and I actually felt relaxed by the fact that I could not read my school emails. I could dedicate myself entirely to my family and we could enjoy this holiday together.

I recently heard on a French radio programme someone who said that today’s rebels or “punks” (term actually used in the programme) are the ones who have no facebook account. Fair enough, but I don’t think educators can be punks and I firmly believe in the benefits of being connected on a global scale. But I do also like the idea of being connected in a rational way. Have you ever tried to have some time off, some real time off, away from school emails that follow us on all our devices? We all know the benefits of stepping back, take time to reflect, rest and share some quality moments with family and friends. I figured that this could have even more value when we carefully plan to be disconnected for a short while. When planning, grading, feedback and meeting preparations are all up-to-date, get ready and try to have some sensible disconnections.

For what it’s worth…