Blog Post 3- Routman Chapter 12 You Only have
so Much Time
This year has started
out extra crazy! I get the feeling that everyone is so tired and with all the
new things thrown at us daily there is never enough time in the day to do it
all. Routman shares several ways to spend our precious time in the most
meaningful and productive ways possible. I want to share my favorites.
Live an Interesting Life: Routman makes a very good point
that we need to live an interesting life. We cannot come to work each day
enthusiastic and passionate about teaching if all we did the night before was
grade papers. We need to have dinner with our families and friends, go see a
movie, read a book, watch tv, cook dinner, etc… As teachers we are not only
role models for learning, but we are role models for living.
Look at your schedule carefully: Closely examine your daily
and weekly schedule. Where can you make changes to your schedule to create more
time for teaching and learning? An example Routman gave was not to linger over
teaching the days of the week for quite so long each day and to try as much as
possible to have uninterrupted literacy block. Get together with your peers and
see where you can “add” more time for students to read. Maximize the time spent
reading.
Do Less, More Effectively: These days we are getting more
and more thrown at us each year and even each day. We have new curriculums, new
standards, new professional developments, etc… and nothing seems to take hold. Routman
shared that when we teach well and genuinely, students are more engaged and obtain
the skills and strategies to go on learning. When we have a clear focus we can
do more instruction, more effectively, in less time.
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more, Anna! I love the statement "Do Less, More Effectively". I often feel like I spend so much time trying to do too many things that I never seem to do anything well. I really connected with the part about living an interesting life so that can carry over into your classroom. Definitely something to think about and work on!
ReplyDeleteAnna, you are right! We all need time to decompress and spend time with our families. It makes us better teachers! When we have a lot being thrown at us, whether it be professional development, new standards, etc. it is often easy to forget what our focus is: our students! If we always keep them in the forefront of what we do, we can't go wrong. Sometimes we just have to take a moment to refocus ourselves and find ways to do less. I once heard someone say you have to go slow to make fast progress. I couldn't agree more. In many aspects of life, less can definitely mean more!
ReplyDeleteAnna, I love your response to Routman's chapter and how you agree with her that we need to consciously choose to focus our time, both inside school and out on what is most meaningful, and what is most effective. My favorite point you made was at the end, "These days we are getting more and more thrown at us each year and even each day. We have new curriculums, new standards, new professional developments, etc… and nothing seems to take hold. Routman shared that when we teach well and genuinely, students are more engaged and obtain the skills and strategies to go on learning. When we have a clear focus we can do more instruction, more effectively, in less time." Yes! Amen! Thanks, Dawn
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