Being Organized - Pt 2

In my last post, we began looking at some tips on time saving tips for teachers, passed on from others in the teaching industry, that will help as you being your teaching job. We were looking at organization as being one of the big time saving devices, and I would like to continue in their track at this time.

Most school rooms offer their teachers a closet or series of shelves to use for materials. Set up a good, clean filing and organization system, making the most out of the space you have, and work hard to keep it organized. So much time is wasted in trying to sort through and find buried items. Some teachers start off good and over the years let it slip and the closet/shelves can quickly become a monster of a mess.

Some classrooms come with access to an overhead transparency projector permanently available. If so, some teachers have reported that using it to post instructions for a project, can save time from having to answer the same question multiple times for the students. Think ahead, and before class, get all of the needed supplies for the day out and organized to save time during the class itself. Basically just taking a few moments to prepare things ahead of time, can be a time saving process throughout the day.

Depending on your grade/age level, it may be a good idea to assign a student aid for assisting you in frequent tasks, like distributing supplies or work sheets. For instance, if you have routine materials you use in the class, then store them in an organized way with easy access so that a single student can pass them out to the class. This cuts down on wasted time as all students go for the supplies, and the time it takes to settle them all back down. Plus, it allows you time to devote to getting the task started. Also, it is good to likewise assign a clean up person (or alternating students each week) and assign them to put the things back and to straighten the things up so all is prepared for the next class. This allows you to continue your teaching plan or closing remarks for the class.

Ask your co-workers, especially other teachers who have been at that particular school for a decent length of time. They may also be able to provide many useful time saving tips and short cuts to getting around your new school building, and using the equipment and supplies provided for the teachers. They can provide insights on how to streamline various daily tasks you may run into, and provide additional insights into great ways to make the most of the space and time you are provided.

The important thing is to start off organized and stay organized along the way. There are many books and internet articles that have even more details and tips from those in the field, so take some time, get educated, learn from others mistakes, and it will help to lower your frustration and save you time in the long run.

Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.