Lynn Flake -- Blog #7 Routman Chapter 12

You only have so much time – I don’t think I need anyone to tell me this, I say it all the time. And I often feel like the friend on the other end of the phone – exhausted. Thank goodness most of my friends are teachers, because they understand it all. 6 weeks into my first year of teaching, my husband had the nerve to call me a workaholic. Let’s just say, that argument didn’t end well for him. J

I felt like this chapter gave me permission to “live an interesting life.” Routman says we’re also “role models for living,” and she’s right. That is part of the reason why we have Friday dance parties in my class. We end every Friday with a little celebration. I tell my kids that they’ve worked hard all week and they deserve a little break. So, no matter what behavior has been like that week, or what child is mad at me, no matter how frustrated I might be, we crank up the tunes in 4-7 and have a blast (sorry if you hear us in the hall way…)

I absolutely agree with her idea of spending most of your time thinking. I feel like 80% of my planning in really just thinking. Unfortunately, sometimes this thinking takes place at 2 am when I can’t sleep. But every process is so much easier when I’ve had time to sit down and think about it. I really like her little list of questions to keep in mind. I think these are there to help you focus your energy on what is most important. For example, with all the new changes we made this year, I had to throw out some things that I’d done (and loved) from last year. They became extra and as much as I didn’t want to let them go, it was just easier to. The word pruning comes to mind. The truth is, there really is only so much time, and if we don’t give ourselves a break…we really will go crazy, get burnt out, or end up on the news.... We love our kids, and we love our jobs, but we’ve got to learn how to take the old with the new, and how to trim the fat. Her tips on keeping work meaningful and making every minute count come in handy here. I always HATED when I had a sub in high school and our teacher left busy work. I found it insulting, boring, and a complete waste of time. I don’t ever want my students to feel that way, so I think I do a good job of keeping tasks effective and efficient. Even in their morning work, my students are often working on writing, reading, or some other skill that is directly related to other classwork tasks. It is also a good “finish up” time. Last year we had a lot of review work sheets and review quizzes – this stressed me and my kids out. I couldn’t keep up with grading it all!

This was such a great chapter to do my last blog on. Truly, I could probably write my own book just after reading it – but, you know... I’m a teacher and there’s only so much time ;-)