I took this section from a posting because I thought it raised some
very good issues and questions we should ask ourselves.
Sidnie Miller wrote:
> I'm not a very
> good delegator so I find that my student aides in high school are just
> another thing that I have to plan for and it would be easier to do it
> myself. I try to do as much as possible during class time. There is a
> lot of time when you are just letting the kids work--they understand the
> assignment and need time--try to use that time to get all these jobs done.
> When I first started teaching I used to spend 12 hour days getting things
> set up, cleaned up etc.--now I'm amazed at how much I can get done during
> classes--and the kids can always interrupt me if they need help. Sid
What type of abilities do I have ? Can I learn to delegate ? Can I multitask
while the students are working ? Do I do too much before, after school and
on weekends ? How can I do it smarter ?
One of Phil Dunn's 10 items for art teachers to learn was to "work smarter,
not harder".
There is no one answer for all of us, but we should explore what type of
situation we put ourselves in and how we might go about to change it.
Step back and look at yourself, it's not to late to fix it even for me who
has taught in the same place for 25 years.
Woody in KC