Recently, I had one of those days I hate.
It was a Monday, and I felt like I was behind all day.
I had emails to respond to, an event to plan, grading to do, copies to make. You know the drill.
And with my students, I was much less patient. Needless to say, classes didn’t go well.
As teachers, we have so little margin as it is. And sometimes I try to squeeze in a couple emails or respond to a text in the four minutes between classes.
It’s those days when things generally unravel.
After the day ended and I was decompressing a bit, I thought back to something a friend shared with me about his family life just the day before. He’d told me that he was trying to eliminate hurry from his life in order to connect better with his kids and wife.
That meant, for him, giving a few things up that he simply didn’t need in life.
And I knew I had to take his advice.
There are two things I do not do well: multi-task and procrastinate. When I’m working on a particular task, I have to get it done before my attention is split elsewhere. And when I have a task to do, I have to do it right away.
It’s a recipe for disaster, especially in a profession like teaching.
When I get an email from someone that requires a quick response, I can’t stand having it in my inbox. If I have a text that needs read, I feel the need to read it and respond. If papers need grading, I get them graded. ASAP.
And if I do those things while students are walking into my class, trying to talk with me, share about their weekend or what’s going on in their lives, I get overwhelmed and even annoyed.
And that isn’t fair. Not to them especially. But not even to me.
So I have to give something up. And I have two options:
- Meaningful connection with students
- Taking care of all the little things right away
As a general rule, I try not to check my email or phone except two times during the school day: plan bell and final bell.
This is hard for me, because it means that I’ll spend my entire plan bell responding to emails and texts and connecting with co-workers (hopefully in person). It also means that I finish my day with 10-20 emails in my inbox (on a good day).
And, of course, I’ve gotten no planning nor grading done. And that cuts into my margin at home.
But doing this is important for meaningful connections with students.
And it might be the only meaningful connection they get all day.