Lesson Plans #2 (Finding time...)

If I had more time I'd do more. But then, I suppose, if I did more, I'd probably need more time. It's a cycle. And the classroom is like that, too...

If I had more time I'd do more. But then, I suppose, if I did more, I'd probably need more time. It's a cycle. And the classroom is like that, too. As standards get raised (or spelled out in more detail, at least) teachers seem to end up with more and more to teach a room full of kids; but they don't get any more time to do it in. And there are deadlines (I have to have the kids ready for the writing assessment by the second week in February. The Social Studies Fair is next month. Report cards go out in two weeks. And so on. It seems like there's always something. But worse than that, it seems like time comes in chunks that aren't always the right size. A fire drill cuts my math class by 28% one day. Or a snow day means that the week loses a day (which can really throw a weekly lesson plan off). What do you do with that kind time? I talk about that some in Lesson Plans #2...