In response to a recent post, our colleague Beau Larimer commented with one of the methods he has used a time or two after a particularly frustrating Zoom session:
In the moment right after getting off a Zoom lesson, in my weirdly empty and silent classroom, I’ll sometimes let out a yell of frustration or a string of curses or both. (Call it venting in a vacuum, lol).”
First of all, I laugh each time I read this because I picture Beau (we met once at a workshop in Bakersfield), who is really such a pleasant person, sitting in his sadly empty classroom, calmly shutting his laptop after a Zoom, and unleashing a string of profanities. Why do I laugh at that, you ask? Why is my sense of humor so dark? I blame 2020.
But second of all, I think there's something to this. Exerting a burst of energy is a good way to get the body engaged with pressure reduction. I'm not a fan of venting as a daily discipline, but I am a practitioner of the occasional incoherent, solitary hollering session.
When you're in a vacuum, no one gets hurt.
Pro tip: prior to beginning, double check the security of your vacuum. Zoom is turned off; door is shut.
Extra pro tip: Immediately after screaming, begin laughing, crying, or both.
Beau Larimer says
I used to do this in my car too at the end of those tough first year teacher days. This year is certainly taking us all back to those days of challenging growth. I sometimes will also will visit the HS weight room sneak in some physical exertion and exercise (also an silent eerie vacuum with no student athletes lol). Probably a more constructive outlet and method for venting frustration 🙂
Beau Larimer says
To echo your very important pro tip: I had to explain to the aid in room a couple doors down my purpose 🙂