Looking for the "less is more" mentality out of the classroom. Getting students to complete things outside of the classroom is a major challenge. Maximizing the time in class and reducing amount of expectations outside of class is the next best solution.
The Choose to Cheat mindset really resonated with me. I had a day like the one Matt described just yesterday. My school had a 2 hour fog delay. That meant that I scrambled in the morning to cut the test I was planning to give in half. I taught all day, rushed across town at the end of the day to our sister school for a 3:30 meeting on Insurance changes that will soon begin. There was no way people in my building could make it on time without leaving early. I stayed at that for an hour and a half, ordered a pizza, took it home and ate a quick supper with my husband and daughter. My daughter and I then returned to school! She missed a day due to being sick the day before and had a lot of makeup homework. I cleared my desk, created a rubric, put notebooks and a letter I had collected away. I went home and rested for a bit. From 10pm-11pm, I wrote lesson plans for today. The next two days will likely be similar as it is the end of the nine weeks Friday. I have some grading left to do. I know I'm busy this weekend, but I'm worried how to get it all done. The sad part is, I'm in better shape gradingwise than I usually am, but there's still not enough time to do everything well. Relaxing my standards will help, but the truth is, I could use a housekeeper and a full-time assistant to make my life work well.
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