[Introverted HSP] The answer to "Teachers get the whole summer vacation off, right?" and a talk about the "quiet rest" that adults truly need

Hello. This is Louve-sensei from the Tomorrow Preparation Room. (→ Click here for my profile)
Leveraging over 10 years of teaching experience, I currently accept consultation requests on Coconala.

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Now, today, as we enter June, I want to talk about the "summer vacation that adults truly need," which I thought about while staring at the calendar.

"Teachers get the whole summer vacation off, right?"

During my time as a teacher, one of the questions I was often asked was, "Teachers get the whole summer vacation off, right?".

This is a question I was asked quite often, not just by children, but by adults as well.

Suppressing the urge to shout, "As if!" and starting with the conclusion: "Teachers are actually quite busy during summer vacation.".

There are training sessions held during the summer break, pool supervision (I hear some places have stopped this due to concerns like heatstroke since the COVID-19 pandemic), and "day duty" shifts that come around a few times during the period. Of course, we are also preparing for lessons and school events for the second and third terms.

Also, it is a fact that because it is difficult to take paid leave (teachers might call it "annual leave"? In any case, it refers to "annual paid leave") during the school term, many teachers take a block of time off during the summer break, combined with compensatory leave. Being able to work flexibly, such as working hard only in the morning and going home in the afternoon, is something unique to summer vacation.

Because of this, the staff room during summer vacation is emptier than usual. It is understandable why people might think, "Teachers are on summer vacation too!"

After I retired and started working as a freelancer, I was surprised (even though I had braced myself for it) that the concept of "vacation" disappeared. Naturally, if I take time off due to illness or injury, I am unpaid. If there is no work, I am unpaid. While I have flexibility in how I use my time on weekdays, it has become harder to take the kind of "block of time off" I could when I worked as a teacher.

That "quiet space" I loved as an HSP

Having experienced two ways of working—as a teacher and as a freelancer—there is something I feel now.

That is, "Adults also need a proper summer vacation." That is what I feel.

For example, in France, often called a "vacation superpower," it is standard to clearly separate work and private life. The revised labor law enacted in January 2017 explicitly stated the worker's "right to disconnect." While there are no penalties, it is said that "in companies with 50 or more employees, workers can refuse to respond to work-related communications outside of working hours."

I wish Japan had a system that officially allowed adults to take time off, just like in France... (though, as mentioned in the article above, with the development of various tools, it seems to be becoming harder to separate work and private life. Japan will... surely become like that too, right?).

Even if I couldn't take a vacation, the "quiet environment where there aren't many people at the workplace even on workdays" that I experienced during my teaching days was a huge help in resting my mind.

For me, living as an introverted HSP, interacting with people in a school environment full of stimuli like sounds, smells, and lights was truly difficult. Teaching is often cited as a profession suitable for people with HSP traits, but I think it has its pros and cons.

Taking a block of time off during summer vacation was, of course, important, but it was precisely because of that "quiet space" that I was able to reset my worn-out heart.

▶▶ Eliminate the noise and find quiet rest

As we can see from the example of France, even during vacation, the mere presence of a smartphone allows the "noise" of work communications and social media notifications to intrude upon us in the modern age.

However, people with HSP traits, like myself, have a particular need for "quiet spaces" and "quiet rest."

That said, for most people, taking weeks off from work is realistically impossible. That is precisely why I want you to try creating a "quiet time" within the small unit of a single day, even if it is just for 10 or 20 minutes.

On Coconala, I offer services that can help you create such a time. With the feeling of visiting an empty, deserted staff room during summer vacation, please turn off your smartphone notifications and let me listen to your scattered thoughts.

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