As I reflect on the week ahead, I recognize the need to prioritize and make time for all the tasks ahead. Whenever we do this as educators or professionals in any field, some efforts take priority over others. How will I fit it all in this week.
Upon arrival today, I'll continue the science prep. Then as children arrive, I'll help out with math questions and needs. Throughout the day, I'll focus on student needs, specific lessons, and collegial work. Then after school I'll meet with a parent, shop for a couple more rolling carts plus a few more science supplies that I need. Then I'll focus on reviewing student efforts as part of my final preparation for report cards/progress reports.
Tomorrow I'll continue the report card/progress report efforts before and after school. During the school day, I'll use my prep periods to prepare the science labs. On Wednesday before school I'll do last minute science prep, and after school I'll follow up with any report card/progress report work and begin science prep for next week. Thursday and Friday will find me prepping for the next week of school as well as some research related to grant proposal the team will draft soon.
I write this post with such specificity to demonstrate how educators need to carefully plan moments in school and outside of school with detail in order to meet the multiple expectations set for our teaching. I do think it's a mismatch to expect educators to teach all day and to do most of the prep on weekends, before school, and after school. Ideally educators would teach for half a day and prep for half a day--that's the way it is done in some school systems in the world. However, that ideal does not exist, so we have to do the best we can with the time we have.
Prioritizing and setting the schedule makes it easier to not get caught up in efforts for which you don't have sufficient time and do not hold priority with regard to the work you do.
Note: Only about an hour into the day, the schedule changed a bit.
