Who are your colleagues? The P.E. teachers* in your building might be your colleagues on paper, but if choral educators need counsel, they really need to seek it from their true colleagues.
Choral conductor colleagues don’t work in the same building. They don’t work in the same district! If you are a high school choral educator, your closest colleagues work across your state and the country in similar positions to yours. These are the people who understand what you do, can offer essential feedback, encouragement, and advice to you.
So it stands to reason that you should take time on your breaks to connect with these colleagues. Meals at conferences, little potluck lunches or dinners, group camping trips, a joint trip to a local winery. These little moments can be far more valuable in your development and growth as an educator than your staff meetings during the year. Be sure to set aside a little time this summer for these “meetings” with your real colleagues.
* (or English teachers, or math teachers, or history teachers, or …)