So, I've mentioned before that my 12th graders are reading 1984 by George Orwell. If you're unfamiliar, Orwell creates a dystopian society in which "Big Brother" is watching all. The party slogans run: "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." If you've never read it--you need to. It's a staple of the educated.
On to my point: I've been doing a Big Brother Simulation with my seniors in which an unknown "Big Brother" is running the class and doling out punishments and rewards arbitrarily (The Secret: I'm Big Brother...and any friends I talk to for ideas are BB too. The kids all think it's a fellow student.) The goal is for the students to figure out who Big Brother is and form an overthrow. It's been quite fun. I've learned a few things about teenagers over the course of these last two weeks:
1. They love boundaries
2. They love rote, brainless repetition of words--even if they don't know what they're saying and why they're saying it.
3. 1 out of every 30 kids will always rebel--even if they don't know what they're rebelling for.
4.They love "unfairness" because it gives them something to be mad about. And teens love to be mad.
5. They also loooooove having a pre-set, rigid schedule: (AKA: things to do "when the timer goes off.")
And it's helped me realize a few things about myself (and some of it is a little too much like all of them). Warning: This post will now go in a different direction. A direction facing ME and my workout schedule. If you're bored already, skip to the last paragraph and leave your thoughts.
Now that I'm no longer training for a marathon, my schedule is soooooo oooooopen. I can actually see people and hangout with friends again! However, that means going out to dinner more...drinking a bit more than usual...and in general taking in more calories than I'm burning.
Without the rigor of a tight training schedule I am more free and more flabby. Thus, my link to 1984: Freedom is Slavery...To My Thighs. I tried on two pairs of trousers for work today and decided they were too tight and thus inappropriate to wear in front of the classroom. I haven't been on Daily Mile in over a week--even though I have random miles and workouts to log--nothing with real purpose. I think it comes down to discipline and routine for that too.
So my question goes out to the blogosphere:
Do you have any tricks for keeping to a healthy workout routine in your "off training" time? What are some of your favorite recovery/crosstraining workouts that maybe helped you improve as a runner? (i.e. I think my spin classes and outdoor cycling is improving my turnover rate.)
As a brand-new runner, I don't have a good answer to your question, but as a fellow teacher I must say I LOVE your Big Brother activity! What a great way to motivate them and help them understand the book!!! I will have to read that one!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to your blog and just want to say hi! I'm a runner and an education major. I love your blog already!
ReplyDeleteI've fallen off the wagon many times, but I've always had more success by running early in the mornings and putting out my running clothes the night before so I have less excuses. Mentally, I hold an unflattering image of myself that serves as an extra nudge.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'm currently reflecting that image, having met up with friends every night last week for happy hours (sometimes two in the same night!). More empty calories, less exercises. Who knew friends could be so fattening?!
Oh my stars i love your Orwellian teaching. If our teachers had done this sort of thing when we were in high school then i might have.... i dunno.... continued to be above average but too lazy for excellence. :]
ReplyDeleteCan i be one of the Big Brothers?!? Tomorrow, the student in the third desk of the second row gets punished for no reason. The student in the second desk of the third row gets rewarded for no reason. And any student wearing purple has to be locked in a box with a rat for the entire period.
Kal
I guess you could set up 'Big Brother' cellphone alerts to punish you when you don't exercise... :)
ReplyDeleteMore seriously, the first few weeks when I "couldn't" run, I missed it hugely. But now I'm rather alarmed how little I miss it, and how easy it has been to use the time to get on with other projects and tasks. I really do want to get back to running, but I think you're right, staying motivated without a race in the calendar is problematic.
As for teenagers liking something to get mad about, maybe we all enjoy having someone to 'blame'?
Oh, and finally, with respect to Kal's comment, purple is too nice a color to get punished. Could you pick brown, instead?