Do all that you can do...

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Home : 2003 : September : 29

Do all that you can do...
By Carolyn

without overdoing it. My feeling is that after working all day I owe myself some free time. I try to leave my room each day by 3:15 (kids out at 2:45) after cleaning up and deciding what lessons I need to complete the next
day (if I need to follow the lesson plans or do something different). I might correct some papers after school, but those are only tests. I don't correct what the students should be correcting in class, and I tell my parents this, also. Students correct their homework, since we go over it. I may look at it to see how they did with it, but when you have a class in the mid-20's as

I do, you take as many shortcuts as you can without compromising the quality of your instruction. Students check classwork and mark it. I look this over too, for completeness and accuracy, but I don't assign a grade to it. And yes, I will be honest enough to say that I don't return everything that I collect from my students. I figure they will trash it (or keep a trashy desk), so I do the favor for them. I will only send home about half of what they kids do in class, plus their homework, so that parents can see what they have done during the week. Also, don't hesitate to use student helpers. I teach fifth grade, and students do a lot for me and love it. You can let them put up bulletin boards for you, as an example. I am in bed at 10:00 each evening, and I never work on schoolwork past 8:30. What doesn't get done on a particular day just doesn't. I prioritize what must be done on a particular day, and the lower priority items get left to the next day, or even later. Above all, don't feel guilty about giving yourself time and just putting those papers aside. You will burn out quickly and even come to resent your job if you allow it to take over your life.