LITMIR.BIZ

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problems,” and “What we can’t get done in class we will get done at home (homework).”

      What Eileen didn’t know was that her student teacher supervisor had already alerted me to this situation. Eileen also didn’t know that a couple of parents had inquired about the amount of homework their kids had to do. I asked Eileen if she wanted help, and she said yes. So, along with her student teacher supervisor and a few others, I worked with her throughout the year. Many of the strategies, techniques, and tips that you will find in this book were part of our work with Eileen. Note that by her fourth year at our school, Eileen had become one of the more popular student teacher supervisors.

      We surveyed twenty-five of our K–12 teacher colleagues, asking what they considered to be the major time management problems or issues for teachers. While this certainly wasn’t a scientific study, the results rang true with what we’ve seen in the research and in our own experience. In summary, here is what they told us, in no particular order:

       ◗ Grading student work

       ◗ Carving out co-planning time

       ◗ Planning units and lessons; finding resources

       ◗ Organizing classroom materials, displays, and/or supplies

       ◗ Scheduling and attending meetings; co-curricular activities and similar responsibilities

       ◗ Paperwork—staying on top of e-mails from teachers, administrators, and parents

       ◗ Developing and monitoring groupwork

       ◗ Balancing long-term goals of curriculum and assignments with the social, emotional, and academic goals of children

       ◗ Organizing the day—prioritizing the work that has to be done or the curriculum that has to be presented

       ◗ Finding time to meet with individual students

       ◗ Allowing for differentiation (e.g., extra time, modifications of a task, providing enrichment)

       ◗ Technology—much preparation and planning time is spent on e-mailing with parents, posting notices, etc.

       ◗ Finding time for enough writing instruction, practice, reflection, and sharing

       ◗ Practicing empathy—forcing yourself to consider the needs of others and your organization when deciding how to use any discretionary time

       ◗ Stop seeking balance and find the usage of time that makes you the best version of yourself; that means taking time to “recharge”

      The teachers we interviewed also expressed frustration as they reported to us the following:

       ◗ “I have no time. When I arrive at school, I am trapped between the two covers of our textbook and the four walls of the classroom.”

       ◗ “I’m trying to handle twelve- to fifteen-hour days. I have almost no time to do some of the things I should be doing—things that need to get done for the benefit of my students.”

       ◗ “You really want to know how I see it—I am overworked, I have to attend unproductive meetings, and I am drowning in testing and paperwork.”

      We hear you. We’ve been there. We can help.

      We address these topics as best practices in this book in a real and practical way. We’ll show you strategies that you can start using on day one. We also include strategies that have worked for us time and time again. These practices helped us manage our time as we changed roles, moved classrooms, and so on. Learning these strategies took us both years of practice and lots of wasted time and frustration. We’re here to save you a bit of both.

      To add to our fun, we went back and asked the same twenty-five educators one other question: “If we could give you more minutes in the day, how would you spend your time?” One teacher said she wouldn’t spend her time answering survey questions, and another replied, “How can you ask me this question when I’m trying to get my classroom ready for school?” The others were too inundated with preparing for a new school year to answer. We get it: You’re busy. You’re really, really busy.

      Here’s the bottom line: Teachers that are good time managers have students that are engaged and actively listening.

      We all want that.

      About This Book

      As you read and implement these strategies, we encourage you to be a risk-taker and a problem-solver. Take our advice, tweak it, modify it, and make it work for you.

      We spent some time finding the cutting-edge research on time management strategies (that you might not have time to find yourself) and paired this research with our own experiences to provide suggestions for you and your classroom. Our intention isn’t to regurgitate time management tips you’ve heard time and time again. Our intention is to give you the opportunity to take a step back and see where you can make a few small (or perhaps large) adjustments to make a significant difference in the amount of time you could be saving—or gaining. We’d like to make it seem like you actually have more minutes in the day.

      In this book you will receive the following:

       ◗ Strategies that have worked over and over again to save time and energy in your classroom

       ◗ Research from the experts about time management and personal wellness

       ◗ Real stories about time management from teachers currently in the field

      The real value of the book becomes apparent when you get up on the “balcony” and look down at your classroom, taking “snapshots” of the transformation that has happened and noting how the changes in your time management plan have worked.

      Some of the most important things to realize about effective time management are that it will improve your confidence and morale, it will energize and engage your students (and their parents), and it will change the climate of your classroom. Most teachers will testify to one important truth: Good classroom and time management makes for a healthy learning environment for both you and the students.

      —Serena and Ed

       Before we start this book, we ask that you take three deep breaths. It’s important to stop, breathe, and slow down to speed up.

       And remember, always make time for relationships, personal growth, and family.

      —Serena and Ed

      Part I Time Management Mindset

      Illustration by Paper Scraps Inc.

      There is one way to achieve time management. And that is . . . to get it done. Time management is a tricky thing. We all have our own way, our own system. Something that works for one person may not work for another.

      The most powerful advice I have ever received was learned through showing, not telling. According to Jennifer, a second grade teacher in Pennsylvania,

       My parents are two of the most incredibly driven and motivated people I know. Both lawyers but with extremely different styles. I can vividly remember visiting them at their office. I walked into my mom’s office and there were papers flying everywhere. Aggressive typing, yellow notepads with scribbles, and phone calls occurring. Next, I walked across the hall to my father’s office. One pad of paper on his desk. A single blue pen perfectly aligned to his pad of paper. And my father, completing a task and checking it off.

       They worked in the same

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