The Eisenhower Matrix gave me a clearer picture of where my time and attention are going. I noticed that teaching the daily curriculum and responding to students’ needs and behaviour take up most of my time. From the matrix, I also noticed that reflecting more on my practice feels not as important but urgent. Seeing these demands together helped me recognize how much a teacher has to hold and how many hats we wear.
This reflection made me think about the balance in my teaching. I spend a lot of time on curriculum teaching and less time reflecting and engaging students in critical discourse. Teaching the curriculum matters, but I also want to make room for students to listen to one another, share their opinions, and hold space for someone else’s perspective. I want them to be able to have difficult conversations without becoming offended or upset.
The matrix helped me notice that reflection cannot simply remain something I hope to do when everything else is finished. At the same time, I know the daily work of teaching includes responding to students’ needs and behaviour, alongside teaching curriculum. The challenge is to be more intentional about making space for reflection within that reality, rather than overlooking it.
One small change I could make is to start my day with a reflection question for my students. This feels like a manageable first step toward creating more opportunities for students to think, listen, and engage with one another. I want to support a classroom where students can express what they think while also making room for opinions that differ from their own.
My next step is to begin with that daily reflection question and pay attention to the space it creates for student thinking and critical discourse. The Eisenhower Matrix has helped me see both what fills my days and what I want to make more room for. I hope this small change will help me bring reflection more intentionally into our classroom and support the kind of difficult, respectful conversations I want my students to be able to have.