Instant Ideas for Busy Teachers...
by Barbara Gruber, M.A. & Sue Gruber, M.A.
Ten Instant Energizers Especially for Teachers!
Teaching is a more challenging profession than most teachers ever dreamed it could be! And, it becomes more difficult each year. Many responsibilities that used to be in the sphere of parents and families are now expected of schools and teachers. Without any additional training, time, materials or resources teachers are expected to do more each year.
Our goal is to provide ways teachers can maintain high levels of energy and enthusiasm, in spite of the challenges each day brings. If our readers find just one helpful idea in this article, we've met our goal of helping teachers teach and children learn.
Recognize what you can and can't control!
Focus on the factors that are within your locus of control. Then, you have the power to make things go better for yourself.
You can control how much extra time you spend working in your classroom. Rethink donating personal time on weekends to working at school, or working at home, on schoolwork. Weekends are your time to have a life beyond teaching. Think back to your favorite teachers. Do you remember certain teachers because the classrooms were beautifully decorated or because of the way they related to students? What really counts is how you relate to children and how much they learn. Working on school-related projects could take every waking moment, if you let that happen. Opt out of the weekend-work team and treat yourself to time off. You deserve it and you'll be more upbeat and energized if you treat yourself well.
You can't control the fact that you will never have enough time to accomplish everything you want to do at school. Even superteacher can't do everything. Opt out of feeling guilty and give yourself a pat on the back for the good job you are doing.
Keep parents educated and informed.
Set up a simple communication system from school to home. Prepare a newsletter on school time with this simple approach. Create a generic newsletter form with a heading on the top, sections for Monday through Thursday and Next Week as shown below. During Monday afternoon, or during the last few minutes of the school day, ask the class what to write on the newsletter. Write a dictated sentence or two about happenings of the school day. Do this Monday through Thursday. On Thursday after school, fill in information or announcements and reproduce the newsletter. Children can take it home on Friday. Consider consistently using the same bright color of paper for your newsletters so they are easy for parents to spot!
Classroom News ~ Week of ___
Grade 2 ~ Ms. Sunshine
There are thirty-six weeks in the school year. Run off the generic formats and each Monday simply fill in the date and get that week's newsletter going! Publicize the good job you are doing of keeping parents informed---pop a copy of the newsletter in your administrator's mailbox each week. Place another copy in a 3 ring binder to keep at school. At Open House and Parent Conference Time have the binder available for parents to peruse.
Organize paperwork or else!
Are you having a paper drive, or is that your desk under that mountain of papers? Every teacher has piles of papers to manage. Here's one of our best systems for paper management. You need a box (large enough to hold file folders) and a dozen or so file folders. Print big, bold labels on the file folders with a felt pen. Label the file folders:
Do Today---Put any papers related to things you have to do before leaving school today in this folder.
Next Week---If you have to turn in a materials request next week, keep the paperwork in this folder.
Next Month---File papers here that you don't need till next month.
Read Later---You've just come back from the office with a catalog you want to look through later. Don't loose it in the classroom---put it in your Read Later folder.
Notes to Write---When a child gives you a note that you need to respond to put it here so it doesn't get lost.
Phone Calls to Make---Staple a class list with phone numbers on it in this folder. Jot reminder notes about phone calls you need to make in this folder.
Take to Office---Do you have a birthday card for the most important person in the school, also known as the school secretary? Pop it in this folder so you don't forget to take it over to the office on your next trip!
Pending---You've sent off the book order. Place your copy of it in your pending folder. Keep the paperwork in this folder for any materials you've ordered.
Pop the folders in a box labeled Paper Management System. Once you get in the habit of using this handy system, you'll wonder how you survived without it. No more frantic searches for lost pieces of paper!
Smart Questions---Savvy Answers
Always ask the question, is there an easier, simpler way to do this? Before getting into a lesson or project, think it through and make sure you are not creating unnecessary work for yourself. You are already busy enough! Avoid Cecille B. DeMille Productions or getting involved in complex, multi-step projects. Sometimes, simple is better---it's your choice!
Cut down on paperwork!
Ask yourself, "Does this activity have to be a paper and pencil activity?" Instead of having twenty-six students take twenty minutes to do a worksheet, can you accomplish the same activity without having any papers to mark? If the worksheet is about plurals, can you instead give each child a card with "s" on one side and "es" on the other? Perhaps you can write the word from the worksheet on the chalkboard and say "Show me now!" Have every child respond by holding a card in front of his/her chest revealing the answer. You can probably do the whole lesson in five minutes and have no papers to correct. And, at a glance you know who understands the concept.
Make the most of every minute of school time!
Use school time efficiently so you can get as much done as possible at school. The goal is to minimize the amount of work you take home. Instead of heading for the teachers room to visit with colleagues before school, can you work nonstop in your classroom? Tell your colleagues you are trying to lighten your take-home workload and you'll see them at recess and lunch. If you spend thirty minutes each morning getting things done, that adds up to 2˝ hours of work you don't have to do at home. Hang a sign on the door that says "Closed---Teacher at Work." Capture those lost minutes so you can lighten your "homework" load.
Find a teacher buddy to share the work load!
There are so many ways to work together to save time.
Perhaps you can plan and prepare materials for your class and your teacher buddy's class for the upcoming unit on Communities. And, your teacher buddy can prepare everything for both classes for the upcoming science unit on Rainforests.
Another approach is to plan the Rainforest unit together and divide up the work. Each teacher does fifty per cent of the preparation and prepares materials for both classes.
Perhaps one teacher can teach a lesson to both classes and the other teacher can have that period as a planning time.
Put your head together with a teacher buddy on grade level and figure out how to save yourselves time and work. You know the kids, the curriculum and what will work! You are the expert in your classroom so you are the one who can best figure out how to do this! Working with a teacher buddy is a win-win situation.
Choose to relate to upbeat, energized teachers!
Identify people are at your school who are positive and upbeat. Gravitate toward these fun, energized people! They are the people to sit with at lunch, at faculty meetings and work with on projects. Don't get bogged down! Stay away from the constant complainers who send out nonstop negative vibes. Negativity is contagious, manipulative and boring. Negative people tend to remain that way---you have to get away from them. Make your workday more joyful by making positive, enthusiastic colleagues your teaching pals.
Lead a balanced life with varied interests and activities!
Teaching is a job that can take over your life---every teacher knows that! Make sure you have other activities going that have nothing to do with your work. Make time in your life for fun and relaxation---you deserve it!
- join or start a book club,
- start a breakfast club and go out for breakfast weekly with friends
- join a garden club
- join a hiking group
- learn something new like wood carving, quilting, painting
- start a movie club and enjoy a movie with friends each month
- take a class to learn something new and different
- get a walking partner and walk together several times a week.
Find activities, interests and fun people so your life is balanced and not totally focused on work. We encourage you to put yourself first---no one else will! Make sure you have time for play in your life.
Be compensated at the highest level possible.
Teachers are professionals who are only paid to work the number of days stated in their teaching contracts. Review the pay scale for your school district to verify that you are at the highest compensation level for the number of years you have been employed. If you are not earning the maximum, start today to earn units to move up the salary ladder. Thanks to online courses, you can complete courses on your schedule without driving back and forth to attend classes.
Invest in yourself! Teaching is challenging, difficult work---invest in yourself so you can maximize your earnings. We offer online courses that are affordable. Earning credit is optional---you can earn one, two or three semester units from an accredited university.
Take charge of your time schedule! Our courses are available any day and at any time---work on course lessons any time you wish! Choose to work completely on your own---or interact with others on line, if you wish. Our courses can be completed in a weekend.
If you are looking for 100% practical ideas and want to earn units, look at www.bgrubercourses.com today. Our courses are:
- CM1 Maximize Learning with Positive Behavior Strategies
- CM2 100% Practical Ways to Save Time and Work
- RW1 Systematic Activities to Boost Reading Achievement
- RW2 Build Essential Vocabulary and Basic Word Skills
And, we'll have more idea-packed courses coming soon!
By the way, did you know there are three kinds of people in the world? There are people who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who have NO IDEA what happened. We hope you found ideas in this article that will help you make positive things happen for you and your students.
Are you going to International Reading Association Conference in San Francisco Apr/May? Please come say hello--we'll be in Exhibit Booth #2731 with Practice & Learnright on Apr 29 and 30th.
Barbara Gruber, M.A. and Sue Gruber, M.A.
Barbara Gruber Online Courses for K-6 Teachers
Copyright 2002: Barbara Gruber Courses for Teachers