Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Blaming My Balanced Lifestyle

Last night our school district's Homework Policy Committee met to fine-tune drafts of new guidelines and responsibilities for students, staff, and families. The process was spurred by a screening of the film Race to Nowhere at our high school and subsequent dialogue in our community last year on the topic of homework (read my thoughts on homework here and here).

We spent some time last night discussing a sentence in the guidelines about balancing homework with family and extracurricular activities. Whose responsibility was it, we asked ourselves, to determine and maintain that balance? It was partially dependent, we surmised, on what a particular student and his/her family valued and prioritized.

"Not everyone can get straight As in their well-balanced life," a wise colleague noted. "Not everyone will be a starting varsity lacrosse player in their balanced life, either," someone added.

His statement got me thinking about the choices we make to balance our own lives.

Not everyone can exercise every day in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can cook healthy meals every night in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can have a super-clean house in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can look impeccable every day in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can maintain a Facebook account in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can advance their career in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can stay home and raise kids in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can make a lot of money in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can publish a novel in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can chair a committee in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can maintain a garden and compost in their well-balanced life.

Not everyone can tackle home-improvement projects in their well-balanced life.

What is non-negotiable, and what have you sacrificed, in your well-balanced life?  What do you communicate to others is important to your well-balanced life?

What do you still need to adjust to achieve a well-balanced life?

2 comments:

Kris said...

That is why THERAPY is helping me with my completely UNbalanced life. Oh, and a sleep aid.

Kate said...

I pretty much do none of these things in my (non?) well balanced life. :-/