On Idleness by Andy Jobson

It’s funny how quickly bad habits can set in.  After a few weeks of summer lethargy, I found myself struggling to use my time well in pre-planning this year.  That’s when I recalled Samuel Johnson’s essay “On Idleness,” which I have often shared with seniors.

Johnson presents an amusing assessment of a vice which, though not as widely disparaged as pride, may nonetheless be just as problematic.  He argues that idleness can often be hidden in ways that pride or wrath may not.  My students love the description of the truly idle, who rise from bed merely to find their way to the couch, who exercise just enough to get tired so that they can sleep again, who “exist in a state of unruffled stupidity, forgetting and forgotten… and at whose death the survivors can only say, that they have ceased to breathe.”

The real value of the essay, though, is its analysis of the ways we hide our idleness.  We do this by staying busy on the non-essential things.  Maybe we invest

hours of time in preparing our workplace, sharpening pencils and straightening stacks.  Maybe we fill the day with “petty business,” staying busy but not productive.  Hobbies can be entertaining ways to spend time, but Johnson notes his own tendency to while away the hours on something that truly just prevents him from addressing priorities.  One vice I especially have to fight is the fancy that I am engaged in important business when having conversations with fellow teachers. Of course I can learn a lot from them, and sometimes it is time well spent, but it can also be a way of hiding from the work I really have to do. 

I’m probably in the minority of teachers who waste time this way, but I have found his gentle humor helpful in redirecting me when I am tempted by the trivial.  Have a great (and productive) year!

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

Evaluations by Andy Jobson

It’s that time of year again.  As a department chair, I am tasked with providing an assessment of each member of the English faculty, noting a variety of issues as “excellent,” “proficient,” or “needs improvement.”  It’s a challenging task.  For one thing, I don’t get to spend very much time in their classrooms, as I stay quite busy with my own students and planning.  For another, I recognize that we are all on a spectrum of ability… where does ‘proficient’ become ‘excellent’ (defined as “it would be difficult to do any better”)?  Don’t we always think we can do something better?  I want to praise my teachers, yet I know that I also need to prod them to strive for more.  At our private academy, there is no room for mediocrity.

I also know that if I mark too many items as “needs improvement,” I can crush a younger teacher’s spirit, creating self-doubt.  So finding that balance is tricky—I want to acknowledge the good, praise the great, and point out the not-so-good while encouraging him or her to see that there is hope for improvement.

Reflecting on my teacher evaluations makes me ponder whether I’m too cavalier sometimes in my student assessments.  Teenagers are, if anything, more sensitive than my teachers.  They need praise as well as guidance.  I have found rubrics can be very helpful in this regard, as with appropriate forethought I can identify several areas likely to receive praise as well as focusing on a few new content or skill areas to assess. 

One particular challenge in assessing student work is the short attention span they have for feedback; it’s not unusual for me to write all sorts of comments throughout an essay, only to watch the boys flip to the back and look at their ‘score,’ the grade, and be done.  I may stop putting the final number on the paper and make them read the material I’ve written to find the grade buried somewhere in the notes! 

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.