Days off

What is the real importance of a day off of school or teaching?  Is there something to be learned from it?  How much work do teachers really get done?  You know, I think it depends on a few factors.  Let's think about them...

The Holiday - Clearly planned out and expected, some teachers use these to keep on planning, while others leave town to get away from it all.  Which is better?  One gets much done and might sleep a little more at night, while the other will sleep a lot for one or two nights, then have the same amount of work to do.  Which is better?

The Snow Day - Unexpected, loved by all.  Many teachers actually work on these days (since they would have anyways), but do take the time to sleep and do other things that never get done (i.e. housework).  Not many teachers choose to do nothing at all (that I know of).  But it does get really lazy by the end of the day, which results in the teacher asking for just one more day...

The Weekend - Teachers expect to only take off a small part of this weekend, if any at all, since it seems that they (and parents and students) expect them to work through the weekend.  And those teachers who don't get anything done always wonder by the end "Where did the time go?"  If you plan ahead of time to not do anything on these days, then you are working harder before the weekend (or after!).  While I like weekends, I tend to hate them just as much since I feel like I am never productive enough...

The Summer - Unless a teacher has another job, or has developed a plan to do things over the summer, it can be a depressing time.  It usually starts off great, with lots of sleep.  But teachers get restless, and need to be doing something.  So few teachers 'actually' take off 3 months.

Sick/Personal Days - I grouped these together since personal days mean more work, and so do sick days.  We seem to think about taking them frequently, but chicken out at the end.  Why?  I too am a chicken...

Well, I don't know what else to say about the day off.  But as I get older, I see myself using the time off more just for personal revival with limited planning.  I think that, when done properly, this can help productivity.  But I still get that guilty feeling the night before classes resume.  Then I force myself to sleep for 5 1/2 hours before the craziness of being taught happens again (and yet I love it!)