I bet I’m not the only educator who has had teaching nightmares in anticipation of the new school year. I’ve had many of them, including last night. And I’m retired!
What’s strange is that this nightmare was about a topic I’ve dreamed about many times before: my teaching schedule. In my recurrent bad dream…
- I’ve lost my schedule or never received it.
- I don’t know what subject or subjects I am teaching.
- I don’t know which classrooms to go to.
- my students are waiting for me, but I can’t find them.
You have probably figured out, if you didn’t know already, that schedules are a big deal to teachers!
Teaching is exhausting. When you work with kids, you are “on” every minute, and much of your day is unpredictable. So having a “good” schedule makes a huge difference:
- It’s crucial to have at least one “prep period” a day.
- At least one break a week with your colleagues allows for collaboration.
- It’s nice to get your hardest classes over with earlier in the day.
- Having your busiest day on Monday lets you relax more later in the week (not that you ever really relax while teaching!).
- A quiet Friday is also a boon.
What’s sweet is that my teaching nightmare had a happy ending:
I found my schedule!
And it was was color-coded, the way I always liked to stylize it.
So, dear reader, I have two questions for you:
- Have you had teaching nightmares, too?
- And do you dream in color?
Images by David’s Simple Teaching and Wildflowers and Wonder.
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