Sep

17

Use a Timer to Increase Productivity

Filed Under Behaviour Management, Goals, Special Education | Leave a Comment

My high school students absolutely love it when I use a timer in my classroom. It never ceases to amaze me. (Although, I must say that when I first heard of the idea I had my misgivings.) In an earlier post, Mental Energy, I talked about using a timer to help one of my student become aware of how much of the time he is off task. I’ve been using a timer for quite a while now in class to help kids focus on the task at hand. Usually I’d set the timer for 20 minutes of silent reading, 5 minutes of furious writing, 10 minutes to complete a handout etc. The kids love it when the timer rings because it means the “torture” is over: they can stop reading, writing etc. and have a micro break until the next task. It’s amazing how much work the kids get done when I use the timer. It helps set the pace for the class, and I always feel we accomplish more when I use the timer.

This time, I’m using the timer a bit differently. I talked to the kids about mental energy and how everyone has a different amount. Some people have more;some people have less. I told them that I wanted them to become aware of how much mental energy they have. If they have low mental energy then they need to know a strategy to help them deal with that because low mental energy affects performance in school and on the job. Some of the kids told me that their bosses at work have talked to them about speeding things up, and the need to take the initiative. So, they were interested.
I set the timer for 10 minutes, and after the timer rang, they wrote down what they were doing when the timer rang. I thought this might be too disruptive, but it wasn’t. They had so much fun doing this. It was nice to see all that positive energy. In fact, when I forgot to set the timer at the beginning of one of the classes, the students asked ” Aren’t you going to use the timer?”.

Now that they are aware of how frequently they are off track, we’ll talk about strategies to help them refocus.
Just an aside- Yesterday, I was talking to my son Chris about this timer business. He told me he read somewhere that to increase productivity at work you can set a timer so that every hour you work non stop for 48 minutes ( no interruptions whatever) then you take a 12 minute break to do what ever. Apparently this strategy boosts productivity unbelievably.

Sep

16

One Way of Dealing With Stress

Filed Under Dealing With Stress | Leave a Comment

How do I try to deal with stress? One way is to accept two facts of life. First, I’ve come to accept that, for the most part, I can’t control what other people say, do or think. (Believe me, I’ve tried.) I can only hope to control what I say, do or think. I can choose how to react to other people or situations. I can choose to get all bent out of shape, or I can choose to let it go. Second, I’ve come to accept the fact that change is constant. The good times don’t last; the bad times don’t last. I’ve had lots of both. Life is a roller coaster ride. These two realizations have helped me deal with the stress of everyday life.

When someone does something that has the potential to drive me crazy, I tell myself I have a choice: I can go crazy and be all stressed out, or I can let it go and limit my stress. I remind myself that I cannot control what that person says, does or thinks. I can only control what I say, do or think. Then, I ask myself if I want to get stressed out and sick over something I have no control over. The answer is a resounding no! So then I decide that I am not going to get bent out of shape over whatever. Does that mean I let everything slide? Of course, not. It means I pick my fights, and that’s the point. Some things, when you really think about it, aren’t worth the fight, aren’t worth getting bent out of shape over. Others are.

The other realization that has helped me deal with stress is that change is constant. Why is this helpful? Because, it means that any given difficult situation will end. Goodbye! Good riddance! I try to live in the moment and deal with just that difficult moment and tell myself that I can handle it because it’s just this moment. I try not to live in the past and dwell on how good it used to be and bemoan the fact that it isn’t like that now. I try not to live in the future and dwell on how terrible it will be in the future, and I know I will probably hate it. Notice, I say I try to do these things because I’m not always successful, but whenever I live in the past or in the future, I just get angry and resentful and stressed out. That’s why I want to live in the moment.

Sep

15

Teachers at Risk

Filed Under Dealing With Stress, The Way I See It | Leave a Comment

Teachers at risk. Are teachers really at risk? Here’s the evidence: 20-30% of first year teachers do not return to teach, and another 20 to 30% leave by the end of five years.(Susan Rosenholtz in Beyond Monet-The Artful Science of Instructional Integration p. 28) Is teaching really that bad that from 40-50% of teachers leave the profession within five years? Ok, as much as I love Bennett’s book Beyond Monet and use the ideas from the book in my classroom all the time, part of my, the cynical part, is saying of course Bennett is going to say that because he wants me to buy his book. What else is he going to say? The thankful part of me was very happy to buy the book, use it, and recommend it to everyone because it is everything it purports to be. :)

Yesterday, when I was reading PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING-THE MAGAZINE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS I come across the results of the College of Teachers’ annual survey of the State of the Teaching Profession. The results of the survey brought to mind what I had read in Beyond Monet. There’s trouble in lotus land. Thirteen per cent of teachers feel really stressed all the time and 45% of teachers feel really stressed a few times a week. As I’m reading this, I’m thinking a lot of people are very stressed all the time, and a lot of people are very stressed a few times a week. Life in 2006 is probably very stressful for everyone. But then, I read that that only seven percent of the Canadian public feels really stressed all the time and only 29% of the Canadian public feels really stressed a a few times a week. So, there is a big difference. The reasons for teachers stress according to the survey are:

Sixty-one per cent of the respondents to the Professionally Speaking survey cited time as their biggest stressor, followed by parents’ blame for student underperformance (56 per cent), school politics (46 per cent) and teacher performance appraisals (45 per cent).(p.52)

These results do not surprise me. Time is a problem. There always seem more and more to do: more forms to complete, more committees to sit on, more extra curricular events to sponsor, more at risk kids who need more of your time and energy. More, more and more. There’s only so much a person can give. Many parents are supportive, but many are not. They have their own problems. School politics does exist. That’s a fact, and teacher appraisals are scary for new teachers who want to do well but think they could do better if they had more time. I see the stress in their faces and and hear the stress in their voices. I’m not immune to the stress at work either.

What’s the answer? I wish I knew. It’s a very complex problem. I do know, though, that part of the answer is to be found in Beyond Monet. It makes teaching fun. When you are having fun you are laughing, and when you are laughing your stress is less.

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