Pub. 3 2013-2014 Issue 1

12 needed is a daunting task.  Everyone feels overwhelmed at the thought of fitting it all in.   One teacher, Ron McDevitt, MAED says it this way: Too much stuff gets thrown at us at the beginning of the school year...no doubt, you will have several days of orientation, staff development, staff meetings and department chair meet- ings before the students arrive.  Upon which you are given curriculum road maps, calendars, previous year test scores to analyze, student rosters, first week procedures, school goals, mission statements, behavior policies, staff guidelines, school protocols, safety training, health training, mate- rial distributions and a partridge in a pear tree.  Then you remember that you still have to get your classroom ready.  Arranging desks, decorat- ing walls, organizing files, creating student worksheets, lesson plans, student handouts, completing your teacher planner, buying classroom supplies, setting up technology in the classroom that never works quite right, in-putting students into your grading programs, creating seating charts, making benchmark tests and copying, copying, copying.  Not to mention the million or so things I forgot but you will no doubt discover. (Article Source: http://EzineArticles. com/3059093) With all of the increasing demands and responsibilities thrown at teach- ers each year, is it any wonder that we must ask ourselves how everything will fit together? What To Fit In? Deciding what to fit in is the first step to accomplishing the how.  Think of this as a shopping list.  To prepare a wonderfully balanced meal, you need many nutritious ingredients for your meal. The same goes for educa- tion. To choose the most important ingredients, you consult the nutri- tion experts. For education, this can include your administrators, depart- ment head, or state educational leaders. Some of the most important items you will likely be encouraged to fit in include: The Utah Standards, the curriculum from your school’s charter, and new technology, but the list could go on and on as we saw in Mr. McDe- vitt’s quote above. Once you have your list from the experts, it’s up to you to select, mix, stir and bake until you have created the perfectly balanced, educational meal you were looking for. No prob- lem, right? How Will You Respond To The Challenge? How you should respond to this challenge depends on what stage of teacher you are. According to the article Growing as a Teacher by Dana Truby, teachers pass through three stages in their careers and each one shapes how you face the challenge of fitting it all in.  If you are a stage one, new teacher, Truby says the top areas to focus on are handling discipline and helping struggling students. Truby explains that for stage-two, mid-career teachers, “...it is an incred- ible juggling act between work, home, and added responsibilities around the school.”  So these teachers need to fo- cus their efforts on their new respon- sibilities around the school. For stage three, seasoned teachers, Truby says the challenge is mentor- ing.  She councils those in this stage to help out the newbies, and explains that “...imparting your wisdom, your pats on the back, and especially your expertise in orchestrating all the many pieces of education into a cohesive whole is critical.” Resource: http:// www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/ what-you-need-each-stage-your-career Recognizing what stage of teaching you are in will help you decide what to focus on as you work to fit it all in. Two Ideas That Will Help: 1-Integrate! Not everything can be integrated. However, many things on your list can. When you integrate your teaching across several subject areas, your units are more enriching and efficient. Elementary Integration: a first grade example With one unit on the American Revolution, another on U.S. symbols and figures, another on good citizen- ship and yet other units on drama and art, much time can be saved by integrating these all into one unit on the American Revolution.  Here’s how it’s done. First, geography objectives are in- tegrated by using maps and having the students locate the thirteen colonies. Writing objectives are included by having the students write about the main ideas of each major event. Finally, by discussing what it means to be a good citizen, students learn what the heroes of the American Revolution and the founding fathers can teach us about being a good citizen. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11