I need a system. (Intro to upcoming series)
Today I was reading some notes from a conference I attended a year or two ago, and realized something that hit me like a ton of bricks: I need a system. Truth be told, I need several systems. And they need to work together.
I work out at a great gym with franchises throughout the middle of the US called Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping. I’ve been a member for 5 years. (Please withhold the comments about how not so extremely my body seems shaped…I like cake.) Anyhow, every day that I’ve gone there for five years, I walk in, grab my attendance card out of the “EFG” section of the file sorter, take it to the front of the room, place it in the pile next to the PA system, and go find my spot.
This gym has a SYSTEM for attendance. You turn in your card to the pile. The instructor takes all the cards after class and logs them into the computer. Everyone does their part, and if you don’t turn in your card, you don’t get logged. Sometimes the instructor realizes it and catches you anyhow. But usually, unless your interaction during class was memorable (I tend to be memorable. Shocking, I know) or the class was extraordinarily small, the instructor won’t realize he or she has one card too few.
That is what I need. Because every year, about 4-5 weeks into new classes, I’m already underwater. I’m drowning. And throwing me a little floaty ring isn’t gonna really help. I need to start the year in a boat that doesn’t have holes drilled in the bottom. So. Many. Holes.
And this is going to be a work in progress. An evolution, I hope. I will be teaching all sorts of new courses and high-intensity courses (AP Language, which is new to me; Spanish 5, which I’ve only taught once before, AP Literature, which is in its 3rd year; and Spanish 3, which I haven’t taught for three or four years).
Despite the mess my classroom often is, I love organization. The Container Store is one of the most amazing places on earth. I love bins, boxes, and color-coded shelves. I could spend HOURS on Pinterest looking at classroom decor and organization. But bins and boxes are little floaty rings. I need more than cute. I need a comprehensive set of SYSTEMS that will allow me to be more efficient and more effective in my classes.
So please, join my on my journey to develop some systems of organization that are more than just neat-looking sets of matching boxes and color-coded stations. My professional practice goal for next year is to get my room running like a well-oiled machine. I have upper level classes, so hopefully this collection of students will be most capable of joining me on this journey, helping me tweak what doesn’t work, and figure out smooth ways to make my class happen. And then I won’t be grading quizzes six weeks after I’ve given them. And I won’t have to spend 40 minutes handing back all the class papers.
Stay tuned for SYSTEM POST 1: Physical Layout–making the room set up to work.
Also up in this series: handling homework, class jobs, student feedback, weekly/daily routines, and more!