Duane Probus
Are Summer Breaks Laziness?
If you live in Pennsylvania, you know we just survived over a week of stifling heat and humidity. There were many reported incidents of people requiring heat-related treatments, including a “mass casualty” incident in Reading where over 100 people needed to be hospitalized because of the conditions.
The heat and humidity are a reminder of a reality people in the modern world often forget: summers are supposed to be spent in stillness and contemplation.
Today, it is seen as odd that “legacy” institutions such as schools and Congress get a summer break because the rest of the world doesn’t. Congress goes home for the summer while the lobbyists and lawyers are stuck in DC. Teachers and administrators go home for a spell when other businesses don’t.
Yet, this isn’t the norm. We can look back at history and see that during the summer, most organizations closed early or didn’t operate during the day due to the heat.
In some countries, this is still normal. The afternoon siesta in Spain, the spasto orario in Greece, or the chiusurva estiva in Italy. Yet here in America, this is seen as an inefficient way of living.
In corporate culture, we should be constantly working, being productive automatons, toiling away for the sake of production and consumption, ever grateful for the opportunity to work for a wage.
The word for this mindset is inhumane. In America, workplace burnout is skyrocketing as more and more people are forced to work longer hours with fewer breaks and vacations. As many as 160,000 people have been laid off because companies believe AI is more efficient and effective than a person.
In this inhumane environment, Chrysostom Academy strives instead to keep our mission grounded in a proper understanding of humanity and the rhythms of the seasons. This means we take a summer vacation during which our teachers and students get a true break from the grind of modern life. Thus, they can focus on what is truly important: family and their faith.
The goal of Christianity is union with God. To achieve this, we are instructed to achieve true Theoria or contemplation. Contemplation is at once active and passive. To contemplate something, one must stop and be still. This stillness allows the constant noise of the outside world to slip away and for a conversation with God to begin.
To some, this is considered lazy and inefficient. To us, this is humane and necessary, and as long as this school is open, we will continue to endorse lazy summer days.
As always, in the final word of St. John Chrysostom, Glory to God for All Things!
John W. Heitzenrater, II A.B., M.H.M.
Headmaster
jheitzenrater@chrysostomacademy.org
610-427-2758