At 8 a.m. today, the Dunkin Donuts at E. 116th Street and 1st Avenue in East Harlem snaked out the door. They had long run out of Munchkins and most varieties of full-size doughnuts. I'm sure the scene was repeated all over the country.
Today, the final day of classes before winter break, just about every classroom in America threw a party, many of them involving cheese puffs, potato chips, orange soda, and, of course, Dunkin Donuts. Kids giddily waited for their turn at the junk food buffet, then filled their disposable plates with goodies and scarfed them with alacrity. It's terrific.
The week of winter break is a hard-won milestone in the school year, a crucial opportunity for teacher and students to decompress, spend time with family, and reflect. After a trying autumn and the onset of winter, this is a time to take stock and to look forward.
In my few years of experience as a teacher, reaching New Year's in one piece does feel like a genuine accomplishment, and the return to classes in January is invigorating. The fruits of your work begin to show--the kids really are learning and growing. In the fall you are planting seeds, but after the new year, the flowers really start to bloom. The school year is a long journey, and this moment represents an important and much-deserved victory for educators everywhere.
Happy holidays!
Dan Brown is the author of the new teacher memoir, "The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle."