Sometimes, teachers just need practical advice to get us back on track. We need something quick that will show results and keep us motivated. A long day at work includes a hurried lunch, many stacks of paper to grade, and poor classroom management. Nothing is worse than scuffing down your lunch with a sip of water. We need tranquility, even at work, and we need to keep our morale up so that we remain healthy, physically and mentally. Here are five quick ways to get control of your work life without losing your cool.
1. Clean Your Desk. It’s simple advice; clear your desk and get organized. Arrive to work early or stay after school to clean your desk. One reason we get overwhelmed is that we have so many papers to grade, we have stacks of paper on our desk, and we still have to teach. Purchase cute organizers and trays for your desk. Throw away papers you don’t need or place them in a binder. I have several binders on my bookshelf, and each has a specific purpose. One binder is for artifacts for my teacher evaluation, and another binder has attendance sheets, call logs, and detention slips in it. This system is very organized because all my papers are neatly tucked away behind a tab. I can easily access the attendance sheet or a worksheet I will use for class. Try clearing off your desk and see if you feel as though you accomplished something.
2. Revisit your rules with your students. You can always restart your classroom management plan. Take the first five minutes of class to redirect the students to maintain the rules. Give the infraction and consequence. Recently, I gave detentions to three students for not putting their bookbags along the wall. The aisles are tight, and I did not want anyone to trip over them. Bookbags are addressed within my syllabus, and I had to execute the consequence. The students served their detention, and I gained respect. Follow through with your consequences, call parents, rearrange seating, and write office referrals when needed.
3. During your lesson/planning period (if you have one), lock yourself in your room and grade all the work. Catch up on your grades and remember not everything has to be graded or placed in the grade book. Some lessons you will be checked for understanding or checked to see if students met the learning target. When it comes to work that is practice, I will put a checkmark with a plus or minus sign. The checkmark plus means I saw the work and I read one question or the assignment is complete. The checkmark without a sign means 75% and a checkmark with a minus sign is 50%. I read one or two questions and look for the completion of the assignment. This system has helped to quickly assess student work including homework or practice assignments. Another tip is to use technology such as Google Forms or Go formative to assess students. You place the assignment and correct answers on the application. Within moments the program will grade your student’s assignments. This works really well with math problems, matching, vocabulary, or multiple choices.
4. Use a strategy that requires independent work. I used to read all the assignments with the students and complete the assignments under the digital camera. I was doing all the thinking and performing all the work. I switched the roles and make the students do all the thinking and write their answers as a form of their assessment. For my career exploration classes, I have two types of articles for my mixed-grade class to read. I have a middle school article and a high school article. I instruct them to read silently, while I stand in front of the class silently reading. Afterward, they talk to their elbow partner, and they complete a writing assignment or strategy by themselves. During this time, the students are quiet, and I walk around the room to ensure that students are on task. No longer do I have to show what I know, but I put the accountability on the student.
5. Keep a daily journal for work at your desk. This is one way to keep organized. Write down notes from each class, jot down where the class stopped in the lesson, and write personal notes about students. You will be aware of who has private lessons (I work at an art magnet school), whose mother you need to call back, who was absent, and who has detention. I also keep a binder with attendance sheets. On the attendance sheet, I mark who leaves for the nurse, used a pass, or had a private lesson. When I meet with parents, I can quickly discuss passes usage and attendance.
Teaching can feel overwhelming if you’re not organized and have many assignments to grade. Complete your lesson plans early, use your lesson planning period wisely, grade efficiently and quickly. One secret to teaching is time management because you will have less stress if you take control of your work-life. After you take control of the work-life, you can focus on what really matters, your family. Leaving your work at school and enjoying your family is the best gift you can give to them.
In the comment section below explain how you take control of your work- life? Do you remain organized and write a things-to-do list? What is some advice you can give?
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