Jennifer Pitman: Blog#7 March/April: R.Routman Chapter 12

     I want to high five Routman on the quote, "You only have so much time!"  Instead of exhausting ourselves we've got to pull together to work smarter not harder.  As a teacher you value your job, your connection and the impact you make personally and educationally.  This brings the emotional drain on us each and everyday.  Our time is valuable and we need to show our students this too.  Being the leader to challenge and make each day meaningful can be done without extra resources so our lives can still be enjoyable.  All of my business working friends think I have it made because teachers get holidays, snow days, and the summers off.  However they don't know we only get paid for the days we work, 180 days over a years time and we spend a lot of those days off at conferences, reading, researching, and spending our own money to buy resources for school.
     I have a new perception on teaching by using conferences, project base learning and other outside sources that allow me time to connect and evaluate my students learning through conferencing with them.  Routine works for a reason, it keeps us organized, well-planned and eliminates wasted time.  If the kids see us happy and eager to be at work learning with them I think the stress level decreases for everyone.  Ultimately I want more hands/another teachers help to maximize the full use of conferencing and assessing my students to get to all of them each day.  Having my literacy coach with me to help assist, teach, and conference with my 3rd grade Horizons on Fridays she can attend has been so nice.  It has made my plans easier to fulfill and each child gets what they need during the lesson too, it's been a win-win! I have to finish my thoughts on the quote in this chapter, "time spent reading, like time spent loving, increases our lifetime."