Working Your Contract Hours

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I've always been fairly good about working my contract hours but the last few years (pandemic teaching and teaching new subjects) have made me be more mindful of my self care and my work/life boundaries.

Here are some tips for working your contract hours:
  • Make a daily must do list. I usually about 3-5 things a day I write down that I must get done. 
  • Make the most of your prep time. I really value my prep time and I do my must do items of the day during this time. I'm working as a special education teacher this year and I make sure to also value their prep time. 
  • Don't grade everything. When I taught general education- I had assignments that I would just check for completion (IE center activities). There is no way you can grade everything. In special education I take data on one goal area a session (IE in a math small group I will take data on one kid's goal area and target the lesson on that- the next time I'll focus in on a different goal). 
  • Make and re-use materials. I will laminate materials so that we can use them again and again. I make or buy games that are specific to the subject I teach so that we use them to reinforce skills. 
  • Get 2 screens. Seriously this has been so hopeful with writing IEPs.
  • Email threads. In my role I work with a lot of different teachers, counselors, admin, etc. I like to put everyone on an email thread and lay out what we've talked about for student support, next steps, and everyone's to dos. This keeps it all organized and I can easily go back later and search my email. 
I also work hard to have a life outside of school. A lot of my friends are teachers - it's great to have a community of people of who understand the struggles of teaching and life me up! I'll be honest that a lot of my hobbies are teacher adjacent like special olympics, but I still leave my actual school stuff at school. 

Other tips are
  • Plan your meals on the weekend. I usually make lunch for the week and some snacks so that I don't have to think about my meals. 
  • Have some time for doing things you like. I try to take my dog to the dog park about once a week and I do a peloton ride a few times a week. 
I hope that you have a wonderful school year. Make time for you! 







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