As a teacher, balancing your personal and work responsibilities is more difficult than any other profession. Address each of the seven areas by task to start off the year right.
The Teacher Desk
Your desk needs to function as a work area. First, it needs a clear work surface free of piles of paperwork. In and out trays provide proper organization. Drawers can be filled with teacher files, supplies, and daily necessaries.
Teacher Plan Book
Your plan book needs to fulfill your school and state requirements as well as function for you. You can use a commercial plan book, but the boxes are often too small.
Try creating your own lesson plan book. Type a lesson plan template, print, copy, and place in a binder. Many teachers prefer this method since they can still write in their lessons and quickly edit them when necessary.
Or, type your lesson plans, print, and store them in a binder. You can also post them online for parents and students.
Teacher Grade Book
A major concern is how to keep grades. Some schools have implemented new online and/or system-wide software grading programs.
The benefit of using a grading program is that grades are automatically recalculated as you input new grades, providing instant feedback on student progress. They can also provide class statistics and other data.
The downside of using a grading program is that many teachers want to keep a written copy of grades and then input the scores, creating double the work. Don’t do this to yourself! Decide when you will input grades and how often you will print copies.
Personal Agenda
Do you separate your work and personal responsibilities on different calendars? If yes, then buy a desk calendar to track meetings, due dates, and other school-related business, and a personal agenda, whether in book or electronic form, for personal appointments. You will end up copying information to avoid double booking, but do not keep personal appointments on your work calendar.
You may wish to forgo the desk calendar and keep all work and personal appointments in one agenda.
Teacher Computer
If you have a computer taking up desk space, decide if it can be moved to another table in the room. Is this computer something you will work on throughout the day, checking email, inputting grades, and responding to parents? Will it be a source of help when correcting or a source of distraction? Will students need to use this computer periodically?
Teacher Filing Cabinet
Organize your filing cabinet to suit your needs. Have different files for IEPs and accommodations, office forms, letters from parents and students, student personal information, teacher certification forms, and other sensitive information. Be sure to keep these files locked when you leave the classroom.
Teacher Bag
All teacher bags are huge and sources of major disorganization. The best bags have compartments and at least one reinforced strap. Some teachers prefer canvas bags since they hold so much, while other teachers prefer more business-type bags that accommodate laptops. Buy a bag with wheels if you are a floater.
The number one teacher bag problem is that teachers feel the need to carry the weight of the world on their backs. Often they start with one bag, and by the end of the year, they carry three!
Do not keep all the correcting you have in your bag! Each day, choose one small stack to take home, and leave the rest on your desk.
Now that you’ve mastered the seven teacher areas that need organizing, you are ready to focus on the students! For more classroom organizational ideas, see articles on class environment and creating class management systems.
Kristy Acevedo - I am a freelance writer and high school English teacher. I am currently working on articles, a memoir, and a YA novel. I'm still looking ...
