Saturday, May 19, 2012

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.

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16 comments:

  1. Love Debbie Diller and her words of wisdom!

    Blessings,

    Jessica Stanford
    Mrs. Stanford's Class Blog
    My TpT Store

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    1. Jessica, she's a smart, smart lady. I'm glad to hear you like her too.

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  2. Great quote! It's easy to sucked into the fluff. Besides, who really likes to spend all of their time cutting, gluing and laminating endless amounts of materials? :)
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Lori, it sure is easy to get sucked in. No to fluff! I've got enough other stuff to do, as I'm sure you do as well!

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  3. So true! I hope you have fun plans for summer vacation! :)
    Julie
    Light A Fire in Third

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    1. julie, I'm running the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon in Seattle and looking at making a CD with my cousin. Otherwise, it's all about sleeping and reading for me.

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  4. Hi Tammy,

    I just wanted to let you know I gave you a One Lovely Blog Award in my latest post :)

    Love your blog and all your ideas!

    Susan
    T.G.I.F. (Thank God it’s First Grade!)

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    1. Susan, thank you for visiting my blog and for the award as well. I'm looking forward to following you as well.

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  5. I agree with you, Tammy! To the people that complain about my getting 3 months off, I usually respond with...it's not actually 3 months by the time I take my classroom "down" and put it all back together again in August AND complete all my summer school-related projects. I follow that up with...during the school year I work 60 hours a week...that's 20 hours of overtime per week. (Let's see 20 hours per week X 39 weeks=780 hours of overtime for the year. 780 divided by 40 = 19.5
    I should be getting 19 and a half weeks off in the summer!) I really don't go that far, but to those that do say something to me, I usually respond with, "Yes, I am so LUCKY! YOU should become a teacher and then you'll understand why the teachers and kids need a long break from each other."

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    1. Connie, at times I've been tempted to keep track of all my hours for a year, but it always seems too daunting so I never do. It would be very interesting to count them all up though, wouldn't it?

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  6. I'm so with you on that! I think it comes with experience though. The older we get the more we realize that some things just aren't worth it :)

    BTW, are you open to anyone joining you with your Saturday Sayings posts?


    ❀Barbara❀
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers Blog Designs

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    1. Barbara, I certainly am open to some company. During the month of April, three other wonderful bloggers joined me. We all linked to each other each Saturday that month. (You can see how we did that if you look at older Saturday Sayings.) I loved it. I'd love to do it again, and get you on board too.

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  7. Thanks for the reminder Tammy! I would be afraid to find out what my hourly rate was if I counted all my hours and then subtracted all the money I put into my classroom.

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    1. Lyn, thanks for coming by and commenting. I agree. The math is scary!

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  8. I have been rereading your Saturday sayings. I don't remember this one, but today it really struck me in light of all the "theme" craziness going on! Great reminder. Thank you.

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

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    1. Laurie, it is a bit crazy, huh? I don't have time for too much of that! Thanks for reading.

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