Saturday Sayings: We're a Busy Lot

(Clicking on the graphic will take you to previous Saturday Sayings.)

With summer vacation right around the corner (not that it's on my mind at all) some person, not mean-spirited but just ignorant, will most likely complain about those teachers who get three months off.  Granted, it's a sweet perk, but we all know that if you watch what the average teacher lugs out to the car on a nightly basis, it doesn't take long to figure out that our work day follows us home most nights and weekends.  We're a busy lot.  

Just like my pedagogy has changed over the past 18 years, the things that keep me busy have changed as well.  I used to do a whole lot more coloring, cutting, glueing, laminating, etc. than I do now.  Considering my anal ways, I spent a lot of time making things look just right.  The problem was the kids didn't necessarily care, and the time it took them to use whatever I was laboring over was hardly worth it.  The things I was creating spent more time taking up space on a shelf than they did in the hands of the students.  When I first read this quote from Debbie Diller, I'm pretty sure I let out a sigh of relief.

Like Debbie, I've made this rule mine as well.  If it's going to take the kids five minutes to use something that would take me sixty to make, I'm going to reconsider my options.  Like I said, we're a busy lot.  If you need a new rule in your life, this one might be a good one to adopt.