Practical tips for focusing as a teacher?

MakeEmLaugh

Can anyone recommend some practical tips for focusing and getting work done? I am really struggling to keep on top of all my work as a secondary school English teacher in my NQT year.

What are some tips? Is there anything you would advise? I’ve been drinking coffee a lot but find it doesn’t keep me that alert.

If I continue at this pace, I feel I will burn out.

solerina

I make a list of things that need to be done. Next I prioritise everything on the list and set a realistic timescale for doing the work. Rome wasn't built in a day, so take your time and work through it bit by bit.
Knock off on the coffee and go for a walk even for 20 mins in the afternoon, you
will find you get ,ore work done when you have had a bit of fresh air !!

2011abc

This could be an interesting thread . I'm going to assume you're an NQT working your a55 off taking piles of work home every night .When I qualified twenty plus years ago everyone realised that the 'Dip' (HDipEd/PDE) was all a bit of a joke and staying up till midnight writing Date ,Subject ,Aims , Methodologies etc ad nauseum on A4 sheets was actually rather silly . ( And impossible on 22 hr timetable ) Like how you drive your car in the test vs day to day .Fast forward and it seems 'best practice' is to treat ALL teachers as if they are perpetually 'on the Dip' .
You need to pick an average deadline that you will not work past most nights be in 6pm,7,8 or 9 etc .I was once told by a subject specialist at the top of his game that you do not take work home (as) "That's family time !"
There are a lot of ridiculous expectations nowadays for teachers .I would be doing the minimum that 'keeps you out of trouble '.
As soon as you are living for the weekends TO CATCH UP ON YOUR CORRECTIONS and for the holidays TO DO MORE CLASS PLANNING it IS game over .No one can live healthily like that . It may be 2,3 maybe 5 years but ( like in England) you are guaranteed to quit or end up in hospital for a loooooong time . ( and we all know about sick leave )
It never ceases to amaze me the people who are perceived to be and feted as 'great teachers' yet they are either out of the class for months on end sick or off to become 'inspectors' , principals or other NON TEACHERS in jig time .
Maybe time to realise that the teacher on the county GAA team , out playing golf at 430pm or just having a good time down the cafe with her mates may actually be a better long term asset to the community than these flash in the pans that work themselves sick and expect us all to join them !

To answer your question more directly I reckon most teachers in Ireland today do paperwork and other jobs through their 'free periods' and bring home a bit many nights .I would suggest some time between 7-8 as your (my) cut off point but then if you live near school you could /should be finished by 'tea time' .

My teachers in the 80s went for pints at lunchtime while those in the 90s I worked with went for relaxing walks during their free classes. THEY were the greatest generation of teachers this country has ever had and have retired with comfortable pensions after long and productive careers producing students with a rounded education I'm certainly proud of and value .

Look at US ! ( and UK -and us in 15 years time )

PS An early night can be far more useful than burning the midnight oil over the books .

MakeEmLaugh

2011abc wrote: »

This could be an interesting thread . I'm going to assume you're an NQT working your a55 off taking piles of work home every night .When I qualified twenty plus years ago everyone realised that the 'Dip' (HDipEd/PDE) was all a bit of a joke and staying up till midnight writing Date ,Subject ,Aims , Methodologies etc ad nauseum on A4 sheets was actually rather silly . ( And impossible on 22 hr timetable ) Like how you drive your car in the test vs day to day .Fast forward and it seems 'best practice' is to treat ALL teachers as if they are perpetually 'on the Dip' .
You need to pick an average deadline that you will not work past most nights be in 6pm,7,8 or 9 etc .I was once told by a subject specialist at the top of his game that you do not take work home (as) "That's family time !"
There are a lot of ridiculous expectations nowadays for teachers .I would be doing the minimum that 'keeps you out of trouble '.
As soon as you are living for the weekends TO CATCH UP ON YOUR CORRECTIONS and for the holidays TO DO MORE CLASS PLANNING it IS game over .No one can live healthily like that . It may be 2,3 maybe 5 years but ( like in England) you are guaranteed to quit or end up in hospital for a loooooong time . ( and we all know about sick leave )
It never ceases to amaze me the people who are perceived to be and feted as 'great teachers' yet they are either out of the class for months on end sick or off to become 'inspectors' , principals or other NON TEACHERS in jig time .
Maybe time to realise that the teacher on the county GAA team , out playing golf at 430pm or just having a good time down the cafe with her mates may actually be a better long term asset to the community than these flash in the pans that work themselves sick and expect us all to join them !

To answer your question more directly I reckon most teachers in Ireland today do paperwork and other jobs through their 'free periods' and bring home a bit many nights .I would suggest some time between 7-8 as your (my) cut off point but then if you live near school you could /should be finished by 'tea time' .

My teachers in the 80s went for pints at lunchtime while those in the 90s I worked with went for relaxing walks during their free classes. THEY were the greatest generation of teachers this country has ever had and have retired with comfortable pensions after long and productive careers producing students with a rounded education I'm certainly proud of and value .

Look at US ! ( and UK -and us in 15 years time )

PS An early night can be far more useful than burning the midnight oil over the books .

Thanks for your reply. The sad thing is, though I'm Irish, I'm working in the UK, and so am well aware of all these teachers dropping out!

History Queen

2011abc wrote: »

This could be an interesting thread . I'm going to assume you're an NQT working your a55 off taking piles of work home every night .When I qualified twenty plus years ago everyone realised that the 'Dip' (HDipEd/PDE) was all a bit of a joke and staying up till midnight writing Date ,Subject ,Aims , Methodologies etc ad nauseum on A4 sheets was actually rather silly . ( And impossible on 22 hr timetable ) Like how you drive your car in the test vs day to day .Fast forward and it seems 'best practice' is to treat ALL teachers as if they are perpetually 'on the Dip' .
You need to pick an average deadline that you will not work past most nights be in 6pm,7,8 or 9 etc .I was once told by a subject specialist at the top of his game that you do not take work home (as) "That's family time !"
There are a lot of ridiculous expectations nowadays for teachers .I would be doing the minimum that 'keeps you out of trouble '.
As soon as you are living for the weekends TO CATCH UP ON YOUR CORRECTIONS and for the holidays TO DO MORE CLASS PLANNING it IS game over .No one can live healthily like that . It may be 2,3 maybe 5 years but ( like in England) you are guaranteed to quit or end up in hospital for a loooooong time . ( and we all know about sick leave )
It never ceases to amaze me the people who are perceived to be and feted as 'great teachers' yet they are either out of the class for months on end sick or off to become 'inspectors' , principals or other NON TEACHERS in jig time .
Maybe time to realise that the teacher on the county GAA team , out playing golf at 430pm or just having a good time down the cafe with her mates may actually be a better long term asset to the community than these flash in the pans that work themselves sick and expect us all to join them !

To answer your question more directly I reckon most teachers in Ireland today do paperwork and other jobs through their 'free periods' and bring home a bit many nights .I would suggest some time between 7-8 as your (my) cut off point but then if you live near school you could /should be finished by 'tea time' .

My teachers in the 80s went for pints at lunchtime while those in the 90s I worked with went for relaxing walks during their free classes. THEY were the greatest generation of teachers this country has ever had and have retired with comfortable pensions after long and productive careers producing students with a rounded education I'm certainly proud of and value .

Look at US ! ( and UK -and us in 15 years time )

PS An early night can be far more useful than burning the midnight oil over the books .

I just wanted to agree with this posts and to tell you I'd thank it 100 times if I could. Very accurate account of what is happening to teaching as a profession.

2011abc

Sorry for your trouble OP .Whats going on in UK education is gross . Seems the 'Academies' are being foisted on communities purely to make profit for their private owners .(I believe the same is going on in America) Strange that both nations' Ministers for Education were 'ousted' within weeks of one another .But it appears things will get worse before (if?) they get better in both juristictions .

Afroshack

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Can anyone recommend some practical tips for focusing and getting work done? I am really struggling to keep on top of all my work as a secondary school English teacher in my NQT year.

What are some tips? Is there anything you would advise? I’ve been drinking coffee a lot but find it doesn’t keep me that alert.

If I continue at this pace, I feel I will burn out.

I made that mistake last year. I was stressed, wasn't eating or sleeping properly and was constantly unhappy. You know what? It made me a bloody **** teacher!

1. Switch off at say, 6pm every night. Turn off your computer, go home and do something that will cheer you up.
2. Have a social life and vent about your day with other teachers. Go for pints with them and laugh about the crazy stuff a kid said in class.
3. Get a life outside of school. Join some clubs, go out and do things. Go dancing and get to enjoy your new town.
4. Make friends with other Irish teachers in the same boat as you. Mine were invaluable last year - the whole system here really knocked us and it was good to hear another Irish person who was totally perplexed by the target system/behaviour of kids/paperwork fiasco
5. Avoid reading about school, reading the Secret Teacher, reading about the failing literacy rates and falling standards. Avoid anything that might paint your teaching experience in a negative light or subconsciously build any pressure or expectations on you.

RealJohn

Get enough sleep.
Make a point of getting eight hours, or as close to it as you can, every night. A good night's sleep and a good breakfast in the morning and you'd be surprised what you'll manage.

aunt aggie

I worked in the UK for two years and my best tips are to prioritise what you really need to do and rob resources from tes.co.uk.

During a professional development meeting at the start of the second year, my dept head was surprised to hear me say that I hadn't been keeping up with marking policy because they never noticed I only did it half as often as I was supposed to!! There isn't as much oversight as you'd think and you need to have a life outside school.

I saw so many new teachers, my age and older people transferring from the private sector, burn out. It's not worth your health and well being. I used to work my ass off during the week and pop down to London at the weekends, but it does take a few weeks to get used to the speed of everything. You will adapt. And if you return to teaching in Ireland, it'll feel like a holiday.

gaeilgebeo

aunt aggie wrote: »

. And if you return to teaching in Ireland, it'll feel like a holiday.

Certainly not with the way things have changed.
I don't think any teacher coming from the UK would feel like it was a "holiday".

aunt aggie

The paperwork is a lot more manageable as Irish schools trust teachers to use their own judgement with regards assessment and marking of student work. I have never heard of management in Irish schools observing lessons and grading teachers on their performance. Things like report writing are also minimal when compared to the English system. There is very little extra work or paperwork involved when a HDip student takes a class. I could go on but it probably wont make the OP feel better.

NO job is a holiday but having the time to focus on teaching your classes makes everything more manageable. especially for new teachers.

mirrorwall14

We're by no means on a par with England yet but there is an ever increasing amount of paperwork and records required. I've had management sitting in on my lessons (though they didn't grade). The amount of work required with a Dip student varies based on the college. Some require more input from cooperating teachers (and some Dip students need a lot of support)

ustazjoseph

I worked in london in the 90's. tough school , great staff with a real sense of unity. that really helped me. i wasnt super organized and often felt that i was just about keeping a skip ahead of disaster. I'm better now at home , but still aware of my weakness. you cant do everything. have a plan. prioritize!. take me time. steal like an artist. the net is full of resources. feedback to your students is important. marking tons of work every night is not realistic. When i started an older colleague - an excellent and honourable teacher - advised me to make some "hide" space in each day. depending on your subject ,A class where we just read, a revision class , a video and quiz session. something that needs not too much planning or marking but still meets a real learning objective. Taking home piles of work is often depressing and counter productive. I knew anotehr older guy who every evening carried home tesco bags of students work and returned each day with much of it untouched. Hed been doing this for years and was slowly ground down. earlier posts about minding physical and mental health are relevant and useful. I now look back on y london teaching years as like having been on serious front line duty. Its tough here but i learned a lot there . good luck