Organization is one of the parts of teaching I struggle with the most. It seems like every time I clean up a mess, two more get created. I’m always moving things around in my office or in my classroom, and I don’t really have a clear idea where anything goes or should go. Granted, I’ve never been the most organized person, and maybe you haven’t been either.
Ultimately, it’s okay to be a little disorganized if that’s what you’re used to, but here are the ways it impacts my day-to-day:
- I will forget a lot of stuff! This week, I forgot to check my students’ books to see if the concept I was wanting to teach them was printed inside or not before class.
- I’m always looking for my materials. I never know which pile they’re in, and when the students walk in, I scramble to find the things I need.
- I have important papers strewn all over my desk that students really shouldn’t see, but I have no idea where to put them or if I’ll ever need them.
- It takes me WAY too long to grade assignments, and when I do, it takes me too long to return them to students.
- I forget to pay bills and have a hard time managing the financial aspects of the job (you may only have to deal with this side of things if you sponsor some kind of extracurricular activity)
- Things go missing, and I don’t know if I have enough materials on hand that students may need.
- Custodians routinely do not clean my room properly, and that’s likely because everything feels like it is in disarray all the time.
So I hope that if you’re thinking of entering the field, you find a way to be organized that works for you. I am still looking for a system that works for me.
If you do have systems for organization in your classroom or in your life, what are they? How did you set them up, and how do you maintain them?