A TEACHER'S VIEW OF LABOR DAY

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence ~ Martin Luther King

As I sat relaxed on the Saturday night of the Labor Day weekend, I found myself wondering about how it started. Wondering about these things and finding answers is part of why I love teaching. My best resource, of course, is the internet. I learned that traditionally, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer, and this particular holiday is regarded as a time to rest and party. Seen as a time to honor" the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," it was first celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Other countries celebrate similarly on different days.

Although I am now retired I can't help but remember how stressful this time of year was to me and many of my former colleagues. There was very little time to "rest and party" because we were often spending time at our school still setting up our rooms in readiness for the new students. Of course, these days some districts' schools opened last week, but even teachers there are spending much of the weekend planning and preparing for the weeks ahead.

It' a good time to ponder on the purpose of school and what we should be focusing on. Some time ago I wrote that one of the purposes of school is to expose children to the "world of work." Perhaps the start of school is a good time to talk about community workers and other careers that people have. We can be pointing out that we are learning about the world so that when we go out into that world we will be prepared for a job, and to do our bit for society.

I believe the year-long academic program should have a strong career focus contained within it. The internet is filled with good ideas. I am listing a site below that you can use to promote the concept of school as an introduction to deciding on a career. I can't improve on it, so I leave it to you to use it as you will.

In the meantime, now that I no longer have my own classroom, I am going to enjoy what is left of the Labor Day weekend to "rest and party". As we are appreciating our time off, take a minute to think about teachers, police officers, firemen, nurses and the like. Many of them will be "laboring" on our behalf.

I leave you with this poem by Jenny Whitehead, from her book called "Holiday Stew."

IT'S LABOR DAY!

A holiday for hard work?
Yes, grown-ups, you deserve it.
But thank you very kindly
for letting kids observe it.

Our school year's just beginning,
all sumer we've slept late.
The only job we worked at was
playing three months straight.

So to make it fair to you,
we'll work on Labor Day.
Our job? To let you sleep in,
and then make sure you play.

HAPPY LABOR DAY

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BOOK NOOK

Here are a bunch of lesson plans connected to Labor Day. Enjoy.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LaborDay.htm