Organizing to Make Teaching Easier

In Chapter 1 of his 2010 book Organization Made Easy!  Tools for Today’s Teachers, Alabama native Dr. Frank Buck gives teachers practical tools to help them organize their classrooms, manage time, and maximize productivity.  He makes these points:

1.        We live in an era of LIMITED time, but UNLIMITED demands.

2.       The technology explosion has made past works on time management and organization basically out-of-date. 

3.       Teachers who learn to use tools and strategies to more efficiently and effectively handle time demands will feel more in control of their days, have decreased stress, have more joy in the profession, and find more time to devote to the really important things.

4.       Peter Drucker wrote that effective executives don’t start with tasks, but start with TIME. 

5.       Ideas regarding best practices in teaching change; however, TIME is the one UNCHANGING element in education. 

6.       Organization and time management are not separate from teaching.  Every good thing we accomplish in education is done so through the dimension of time. 

7.       Our ability to plan, to get help from others, and to reach our goals is directly related to our ability “to organize our environments efficiently and use time effectively.”

Buck says his book covers a “comprehensive system for bringing order and control to your personal and professional life.”

I will share notes from all the book chapters in the coming days.