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As the popular meme goes, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” Whether it is studying for a test, completing a lab report, committing to a school sports team or club, students never seem to have enough time. But the same goes for us teachers: how are we supposed to find the time to plan great lessons, execute them, finish all of our marking, and then reflect on our practices, by sharing what we learn through Twitter, blogging, or other outlets? Not to mention, it would be nice to have a life outside of school. You know: watch your favourite sports team on TV, catch up on the latest Netflix series (House of Cards has how many seasons?), or perhaps sleep occasionally.
When I was in high school, I once pondered the idea of slowing down Earth’s rotation so that there could be more than 24 hours in the day. Upon further reflection, there would probably still be the same complaints. People will always find themselves running out of time. If time isn’t the issue, time management certainly is.
There are so many deeper issues here, I’m not even sure where to start.
- Priorities – We all have them. We encourage our students to set them. Sometimes things are consciously chosen to have a lower priority (Students will study for Tuesday’s test before they complete the assignment due Thursday), and we need to accept this, and even praise it.
- Procrastination – Admittedly, I’m terrible at this. A stack of lab reports recently sat on my desk for almost a month before I even cracked open the first one. Something always seems to come up, and in the social media, 4-second-attention-span, iPad generation there is always more instant gratification. One Sporcle quiz becomes 12. One Wikipedia page leads to another.
- Disinterest/Boredom – If students aren’t interested, they won’t make the effort. Of course, it is the job of the teacher to make their subject/lesson interesting.
I came across an article today (on Twitter!) then annotated it (using Diigo!) that starts to address this issue. In a nutshell, the author argues that nobody is innately talented, but that they must work diligently over time in order to improve any skill. The most successful students are the ones who seek out talented teachers (who push them), and spend the time practicing until they develop an intrinsic desire to practice and improve. Using the analogy of a music student, they eventually practice because they enjoy making music and take some pleasure in it (a situation I myself developed around my 3rd year playing clarinet in high school).
It should go without saying, but I LOVE teaching. That’s why I signed up for Cohort 21 in the first place. I take great pleasure in creating engaging lessons and pushing my students to the next level. I have that elusive intrinsic desire to improve. I’m surrounded by other great teachers, both at my school and through Cohort connections, and I look forward to being guided and pushed to improve my own practice.
So, to wrap up: time management appears to be a problem, but if we can convince students to practice, continually push them to improve and hopefully get to a point where they want to practice, then the students will be more successful in our course. We must maintain our desire to improve as well and seek out guidance from other great teachers to do so.
Phew … whew
Great post to put out there Jason, particularly at this time of year with tests, assignments, play-offs, rehearsals, open houses, and the list goes on. How might you cultivate these skills (executive functioning) in yourself and your students? This is certainly something that challenges me all the time (forgive the pun), so I have adopted different resources and strategies over the years. I’m looking forward to your journey and how you will find time to continue to reflect and deepen your craft.
thanks,
garth.
Great post! I think that taking the time to reflect actually has paid off for me in the long-term. I am more confident in the effectiveness of my lessons and classroom strategies because I have reflected on them, which means I have less prep (more time for me!) and even more mental space during class (more time for students!). It has taken a few years to reap the benefits, but I’m sooooo glad I made the investment.
Perhaps it’s like flossing – we all learned at teacher’s college that we *should* reflect regularly, but taking the time to make it a regular habit is harder. You’ll be glad you did in the long run!
“Nobody is too busy, it’s just a matter of priorities.” – Some wise person
So glad you are making your practice one of yours.
We will do our best to build a community around your goals and help you develop new skills to help you actions them.
Phew … whew….woo…hoo!
Thanks for the post, Jason! Here’s a question: how might we engage and spark interest for those students who are disinterested and disengaged? We hope to get them to the point where they become intrinsically motivated, but not everyone develops that in the end. How might we ensure that we are still reaching those students from the very beginning of the year?
And I second Ruth’s point about reflection: definitely worth the time investment!
Jen
I think the key to engagement is finding interesting topics. Students need to know that science is all around them. We can have discussions about interesting science things (have kids suggest topics, even) – and if we get a little off-topic or away from the curriculum once in a while, at least it’s still science.
As a new-ish teacher, I am constantly bombarded by all the amazing new “things” there are out there for educators, and initially I felt overwhelmed by it. But you are so right about priorities and time – I have just pushed myself to start using twitter and blogging, and because I am now excited to learn about it, somehow the time to do it quickly appeared.
Great post!
Mad props to you just for putting your Cohort tools to work and making time for THIS!
I heard once (probably same wise dude Justin quoted) that we will make time for what we value.
How can we as teachers be clear with ourselves, and even our students, about these values so we can really narrow in on what’s most important?
Your use of tools is rocking! You lead with some great questions and you have a good number of people who are commenting on your blog – Sarah Thompson is a colleague of mine who has that elusive desire to always improve you mention.
@jmedved and @ckirsh are right in and the wise words of the Merovingian (The Matrix 2) – “How can we ever have time if don’t ever take time” – reflecting is important and thanks for taking the time to share!