Summer is over and that means that all of us ELA teachers are headed back to teacher inservice. That feels like a curse word to teachers, doesn’t it? We should be excited to have the chance to jump back into our classrooms but it never feels that way. And what’s worse is that I feel exhausted and annoyed with myself by the end of it. Not the best way to feel right before school starts back. So this year, I decide that for each teacher inservice day, I was going to do things differently. I thought about the things that I can control. I pondered how I had been wasting my own time. And I changed a few things to make these teacher inservice days better. So check out the five things that I changed for my teacher inservice. And, let’s make this back to school season the best yet!
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Five Teacher Inservice Mistakes I Am No Longer Making
Teacher Inservice Mistake #1: Feeling Teacher Guilt and Taking School Work Home
Why do we as teachers think that we have to bring our work home? Do many other professionals do this? Not that I have seen. And if they do, they certainly are recognized and compensated for their time. But, we as teachers are notorious for not being able to get everything done and bringing work home. So when I am unable to load all my lessons and resources onto my learning platform. Or I can’t get all my first day activities planned. Or I want to send out a welcome email to all my students and parents. I think that it can’t happen now, so now there goes my laptop into my teacher bag. And I pull it out and work on it, late into the night on the first day back to school. That has got to stop!
Solution: Focus on that Teacher Self Care that Admin Always Chats About
I’m focusing on practicing that teacher self-care. And the easiest way to do that is to not take my work home with me. So even though I am so tempted to just put my computer in my teacher bag. I have to stop and remind myself that I promised myself that I would not do that. And, that is a promise I am working on keeping!
So every time I go to reach to place my computer or work into my bag. I stop and give myself a little pep talk. I think about the promise I have made to keep my work at work. The desire that I want to have more time with my kids at home. And, the knowledge that I know everything will get done. And those three simple reminders are what helped me keep going when I want to just give in to that teacher guilt.
If you are thinking you need help to get yourself organized so you don’t have to take work home. Then, check out my blog post: How to Plan Lessons for the Year: A Step by Step Guide for ELA Teachers
Teacher Inservice Mistake #2: Comparing My Room to the Instagram Teacher Influencers
With social media so integrated into our lives, it’s really easy to see the beautiful classrooms of teachers. You know the ones. Where the classrooms have beautiful bulletin boards. Matching posters that all coordinate with the decor. Big rugs that cover the floors. Beautiful furniture that looks like the IKEA showroom. And I love that they are creating beautiful spaces for their students.
But it is easy to walk into your classroom and then feel like your classroom is lackluster. As with most teachers, my classroom is mostly blank at the beginning of the year. Everything is packed up and put away. The feeling of looking at all those blank walls can be overwhelming. It’s easy to wish that you had that beautiful classroom. Trying to keep up with other teachers can be exhausting. And that means that you might try to spend all your teacher inservice time making your classroom more beautiful. You might take down the bulletin boards, but you have to replace them with something more. You might search for hours on Amazon to find the perfect decor. And, you might rearrange your room over and over to find the perfect setup. But all of these things aren’t necessary for you to be a good teacher.
Solution: Create a Welcoming Classroom with What I Have
One of my teacher friends recently reminded me that comparison is the thief of joy. And that is some of the wisest advice to remember as a teacher. It’s so easy to get consumed by what we see on social media. We forget that a pretty classroom does not make a difference to our students. Does it signal to them that we care? But can a blank classroom still inspire? Absolutely! So, I am not going to focus on searching and purchasing a whole bunch of decorations. Instead, I am going to find contentment in my classroom.
I know that I have already created a welcoming environment. And, I know that my personality and focus on making my classroom feel inviting is enough. So, I am pushing away all the doubts and leaving my room the way that it is.
If you are looking for an easy and free idea for your room, check out my blog post about my Taylor Swift-themed bulletin board. How to Create In My Reading Era Bulletin Board in 7 Easy Steps. This post will show you how to make your own Taylor Swift Eras Tour Poster as a bulletin board in a few easy steps. Check it out and make your room shine without a ton of extra work.
Teacher Inservice Mistake #3: Changing My Entire ELA Curriculum
If you are like me then you love writing and designing curriculum. The desire to want to do something new is always there. And, it is so easy when it’s back to school season to feel like now is the chance to redo everything. That nothing was perfect and everything could use a refresh starting with Day 1.
Here’s the problem with that thinking. You start a little of everything and end up with nothing ready to go for the first few weeks of school. And then, school is in full swing, and you really have nothing for the next few weeks. And then you have all these great ideas started but you are still going back to what you know. But you are left feeling behind because you are playing catch up. Plus, you feel discouraged because you didn’t update what you wanted. There is a better way.
Solution: Keep my best ELA units the way they are
I have been teaching for over a decade and that means that along the way, I have created some really awesome lessons. And sometimes as teachers, we just need to remember that! We don’t need to change everything. One of my mentors always shares, “Don’t get distracted by the shiny objects.” Yes, you could redo your entire writing unit… But do you need to? Instead of trying to redo everything, rank your units. Find your weakest unit and just focus on updating that unit for this year. Bonus points if it falls later in the year to give you more time. This year my unit redo is my Literary Elements unit. I want to ask more engaging questions and challenge my students to think more with our short stories. Everything else is going to stay the same.
If you are looking for some units ready to go for you that would save you even more time, here are some of the best ones from my curriculum:
Back to School Bundle: First Day Stations and Syllabus
Literary Analysis Essay Writing Bundle
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Bundle
Teacher Inservice Mistake #4: Do All the Fun Little Projects on My Teacher To Do List First
This one is such a terrible and tempting mistake that I make all the time! I create my teacher to do list. And I see all the tasks that I have to complete. And it feels overwhelming. Plus, I want to feel successful. So, instead of taking the time to tackle the big stuff that really needs to get done. I look at the fun things and start there. Like redoing my sign-out sheets for my students. Or updating my email signature. A personal favorite is designing new agenda slides for the year. These are all great fun details but are they helping get me ready for the first day? Not even a little bit!
Solution: Knock Out the Most Important Back to School Tasks First
I know that I am not the first to say this but you need to create your big 3 goals for each day of inservice. These are the three must do tasks that need to get done. When thinking about these tasks, think about what will help you the most for going back to school. Bathroom sign out… no way! Adding your resources for the first two weeks on your learning platform… that sounds like a better use of your time. Once you have found your Big 3, get to work. Chunk the tasks into smaller pieces and provide yourself some motivation or reward after each chunk. I am a chocolate fan myself. Make your work environment more conducive to helping you accomplish your task. Play some music, listen to a podcast, and turn off the overhead lights. Create a vibe that’s going to keep you motivated.
If you want some help getting organized, then check out my blog post: How to Get Organized as a Teacher: Your Back to School Routines Simplified. I help you find the motivation to get everything done that you need for the beginning of school.
Teacher Inservice Mistake #5: Waste Time With Bad Teacher Time Management
My last teacher inservice mistake is about having bad teacher time management. We teachers have just had the summer off. So, while you may not been on vacation for the whole summer. You certainly weren’t in the teacher mode. And that takes time to transition back into. I find that on the first day of inservice, I have no motivation. I want to waste time chatting with my teacher friends. Wandering around my room unpacking things that aren’t urgent. Checking out the supplies in the teacher lounge. But those are all just things wasting my time. Teacher inservice is full of meetings so our time is precious. And, there is so much to set up. So why am I wasting it chatting? I will have the whole year to chat.
Solution: Close My Door and Lock In
While it’s not the fun way to use teacher inservice, I have really worked hard to not get distracted. That means closing my door and acting like I am not available. It’s amazing how much more I can get done when I focus on spending my time working on all these tasks. It’s so tempting to ease back into teacher mode but the first day of school really demands that I have a lot of things ready to go. So, I am working hard to close that door and leaving the socializing for September.
Need some help creating routines to get you organized for back to school? Check out my blog post: How to Get Organized as a Teacher: Your Back to School Routines Simplified. I share the ways that systems and routines help save me time and get me back into teacher mode.
ELA Teacher Activities to Plan During Teacher Inservice
7 Amazing Activities for the First Day of Class in High School
Top 5 ELA Activities I Will Definitely Be Doing Next Year
12 Exciting Ideas for a Book Project for High School Students
Taylor Swift Lesson Plan: How to Use Taylor Swift Songs as Poetry
Well, now you know all my teacher inservice mistakes that you can avoid this year! I hope you take all of my failures. And, that you learn from them. So, that you can do better in your own classroom! And if you want that extra credit teacher bonus: check out my Back to School Bundle. Have everything you need for those first few days of school ready to go!
If you found this blog post to be really helpful and you want to see more like it, go check out the rest of my blog posts at www.theteacherrewrite.com. And on Instagram @theteacherrewrite. I focus on all the ELA resources, tips, and tricks that you need to make your life easier. Without having to rewrite your curriculum Let me do all the hard work for you! I hope to see you over there! And as always, remember to think smart, not hard. So please don’t make my 5 teacher inservice and be awesome instead!
