Time management can be tricky as a teacher. One thing that surprised me as a student teacher is just how many tiny decisions you have to make in one day. Even with a planning period there is not time to get everything done. ATAB classroom can feel overwhelming because you aren’t assessing everyone doing the same project step by step. One student could be making a cardboard sculpture, another sewing some stuffed animals while another student paints. Each of these students needs help in a different way and I am now realizing I need to learn more fiber arts and sculpture techniques if I am to truly help students with their art making. But when am I going to have time to teach myself fiber arts? When I go home from teaching, I have a husband, two kids and a dog that need me and I must be present for them. But now that I am settling more comfortably into student teaching, I am thinking I can have my kids learn new art techniques with me on the weekend.
I try to make lists of small things that don’t take too much time. For example, one student has to stay seated at her desk in class and it was a quick task to make her a box to have access to art materials and it’s nice to cross it off the endless list of things to do. I am learning that is impossible to get everything done in a day because teachers are too busy in the moment teaching. I work better in the morning so my plan is to come to work very early to get things done as I am exhausted by the end of the day. I am seeing that the art teacher gets asked to do extra tasks for things like the school play and musicals and I think those things can easily get overwhelming.
I plan to ask for parents to help out in the classroom and donate things like cardboard boxes and paper towel rolls. Parents love to help out and for some reason the specials teachers for my kids never ask for help in the classroom. I would love to have a parent volunteer come in and help with the little ones during art class. I think a teacher can be a team player, but I fear saying yes to everything could lead to burnout. I got some good advice about this, if a colleague asks you for something you don't have time to do you can say no, but point them to someone or something that can help them out.
I still have big plans for my art curriculum, such as a focus on ideation, incorporating technology and teaching students how to talk about art, but this all depends on how long the term is . I won’t be able to deep dive into any of those things in a quarter long middle school art class so how do I make a meaningful art experience for those students that last only eight weeks?
I have asked teachers what their time management strategies are and the one thing in common that they all say is that there will never be enough time to do everything you want to do. I have seen this firsthand in that it is easy to have all these plans before the term starts, but once the term starts you get so busy that you have to prioritize the things that are important. Is it important that every item gets crossed off a "to do" list or is it more important that students are finding meaning in art making and joy in making new discoveries. One does not have to win teacher of the year for this to happen, you just have to remember that the students are your first priority. I have goals of getting a master's degree, writing articles for SchoolArts magazine and eventually becoming nationally board certified, but I need to remember that my goals for my first three years will be becoming a good teacher who provides an excellent art experience for the students.
I did an acrylic pour for my art prompt this week, and it looked pretty grungy after I accidentally burnt part of it with the blow dryer. I decided to salvage the piece by taking a close-up photograph to find a beautiful smooth and calm composition in the middle of burnt paint. This ended up being a great metaphor for time management because all the little tasks you need to accomplish can congeal together into an overwhelming mass, but if you focus on getting a few things done you can find a little peace in your hectic teaching day or week. It is satisfying to cross off even one thing on a to-do list.