This post is coming from a convergence of an extremely busy week filled with planning a new unit, completing my paperwork duties, administering state testing, planning for summer projects, taxes and just regular life and work on top of that.  Time is probably a teachers most common enemy.  Meanwhile I was reminded of a funny video by The Onion regarding state testing that made me refocus on another issue I struggle with which is student independence.  In the satirical video, the participants argue that testing is bias against students who don’t care about school.  It is more hilarious every time I watch it. How does this relate to my busy week? One of the examples they give is about how “the deck is stacked against the child whose pencil breaks and then he doesn’t feel like getting up to go sharpen it and so he just chews his fingernails for the rest of the test”.   When I thought about how many times I had retrieved a pencil for a student who couldn’t get started because they didn’t have one, gotten paper because a student didn’t feel like getting up, or emailed a teacher for them because they didn’t feel like it, I started to wonder how much time that would add up to? how many times I did for them what they should be doing for themselves?  How many times did I stop what I was doing to assist them, adding more time to my task? How many hours does that add up to?

I know I am not helping them by doing things that they could and should be doing themselves.  So many times, it is faster and easier for me to do it despite knowing it’s a huge mistake.  It is a mistake for students who are entering a world where they need to be able to compete with the most creative and self-directed people out there.  If they are going to be solving problems in the 21st century and beyond, they can’t be passive.  And if I am going to be able to help transform schools for their children’s futures then I can’t waste time doing these things for them either.  It’s no wonder things in the world of education change so slowly.  I’m going to challenge this inclination of mine.  As we begin a more self-directed unit, I will probably have many opportunities to address this issue over the next month.  So, for the next 30 days, I am going to question every student who asks me for something in order to confirm that they truly need my help.  In order to get through this week myself, I brainstormed some other ways that may help save time and created a pdf.  Subscribe and download it, so we can get back to the way more fun business of transforming our classrooms.  If you have any good hacks for time management and productivity, please comment!  We can all use ideas on this one.