Sabrina Fair - Post #4 - Routman Chapter 12: You Only Have So Much Time

I think every teacher instantly makes a connection with Chapter 12:  You Only Have So Much Time.  I like the way the author addresses not only the time crisis in our professional lives, but our personal lives as well.   It is so easy for us to lose ourselves in the work that we do.  It never stops; our jobs are never done.   There is always something else that gets added to our list just when we think we see an end in sight.   I have learned over the last several years how important it is to prioritize my life, both personal and professional.    Personally, I had to decide to limit the work that I do at home so that I can actually live.   For example, I decided a few years ago that I would no longer grade student work at home.   Although I occasionally broke that rule, my decision to leave ungraded work at school opened up a significant block of time.   I’ve tried to create the same rule for lesson planning.  I’m able to apply that rule maybe 50% of the time.  I’m still working on it.   I have found that I’m more productive and I enjoy my job as a teacher more when it doesn’t take over my life.

Chapter 12 also addresses adjusting our schedules at school so that the time we do have with students can be used more effectively.  I think it is important to be reflective and really think of what we are doing in the classroom, and determine why we are doing those things.   We should consider eliminating those activities that are not meaningful to open up our schedules for things that are.  Sometimes it’s really hard to let go of what we’ve “always done”, but we have to do so if we are going to create a more effective learning environment.  The author makes reasonable suggestions such as appropriate pacing and making resources more useful and easy to access. Sometimes the smallest change can make the biggest difference.