Instructional breaks leave Ohio State students, instructors wanting more

Ashley Grimmer
Tue, 30 Mar 2021 23:56:31 +0000
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In an attempt to decrease travel due to the pandemic, the university replaced the typical full-week spring break in mid-March with two two-day instructional breaks. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

As Ohio State students and instructors approach the second instructional break of spring semester, burnout levels are high and some are wondering if this reprieve will provide any more relief than the last.

The university canceled spring break this year in an attempt to reduce travel and prevent additional coronavirus spread. In its place, Ohio State provided two mid-week instructional breaks — the first being Feb. 23-24, and the second Wednesday and Thursday.

Students and instructors said these breaks — which each provide two consecutive days without classes rather than the nine days of a typical spring break — are not adequate for helping them through the semester and have prompted some instructors to cancel additional classes.

D’Arcee Charington Neal, a graduate student instructor in the Department of English, said he canceled his classes for the week of March 15 to give his students and himself a break in the middle of the semester.

“I recognize that school is crazy and folks are tired, everybody is a little bit worn out,” Neal said. “It’s an instructional break, that’s not a spring break.”

University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email it’s important to reduce travel-related COVID-19 exposure.

“The instructional breaks were designed with student wellness in mind,” Johnson said.

Although he understands the university’s decision and the need to reduce travel, Neal said he thinks the university didn’t factor in instructors’ needs.

“Students have an instructional day off, we sure as hell did not,” Neal said. “Even though I didn’t have to teach that day, I had to use the extra time to then make up my class for Thursday.”

But some students said the February instructional break proved to be ineffective.

Jen Kaufman, a second-year in exercise science, said she had two assignments due on the first day of the break, meaning she only got to enjoy one day away from school work.??

“I’m just fried,” Kaufman said. “Not having a spring break where you have the full week off — you got the weekend, the full week and then the next weekend off — it’s just a really great way to kind of recalibrate, reset yourself. And not having that, it just gets exhausting.”

Kaufman said she and her friends went to Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio, for the break.

“I had an absolute wonderful time, but it would have been nice to have a few extra days instead of thinking like, ‘Oh shoot, we have classes again tomorrow,’” Kaufman said.

The second instructional break will provide students and instructors another attempt to take a breather, but some think this next break will be more confusing than the last because they will have Wednesday classes on the Friday they return.?

Darcy Hartman, a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, took to Twitter to express her opinions on the shift.

Dear university that I work for,
I would just like to point out that the second instructional break provides no break for me, and in fact makes my work week less desirable. My only synch classes are MW. You have now taken my W and moved it to F. Why do you hate me so much?

— Dr. Darcy Hartman has water and snacks (@DrDarcyHartman) March 9, 2021

Hartman said during a typical year’s spring break, most faculty need to take a day or two to get caught up on things and then can take the other days to relax. She said the instructional breaks do not provide adequate time for the latter.

“I absolutely value the time off,” Hartman said. “Just relax, enjoy myself, be surrounded with people that I haven’t had time to be with, or get myself to a different location, geographically better weather or whatever — it’s all valuable to all of us.”