How true is the quote above from We Are Teachers? It really does not matter what our classrooms look like. The main thing is that the students feel they are loved and are important.
National Clean Off Your Desk Day
Did you know that January 11th is National Clean Off Your Desk Day? Honestly, as much as I try to keep my desk clean, by the middle of the school day, I end up having papers all over! When I walk into other teachers’ classrooms and see their clean desk, I always wonder how they do it!!
Although I have the problem of having stuff all over my desk, I do try to do a few things in order to help keep me more organized, and, honestly, thinking back to previous years, this has helped me keep my desk more organized than in the past!
- End of School Day ~ I make sure my desk is organized before I go home every night. This helps make the next morning easier when I come into school because I do not have to worry about everything being all over. This also helps if I end up getting sick and needing a substitute the next day. I hate it when I have a substitute and know that my desk is a disaster! They should not have to deal with that mess. 😉
- Materials for Each Day ~ I have a bin/basket labeled for each day that I put all of the materials for that day inside. This takes the materials off my desk and also makes me more organized at the start of each day (and, of course, it is helpful if I have a substitute).
- Papers to Grade ~ I also have a basket/drawer where I keep my papers that need to be graded. Again, this allows my desk to be free of clutter, and I have one place to go when I am ready to grade assignments.
Bulletin Boards
At the beginning of the school year, I try to have some nice bulletin boards up, but I will admit, they are nothing fancy! As the school year goes on, I tend to keep the same bulletin boards up until my students do a project that I then use to replace what is currently on the board. I feel this is okay! We, as teachers, do not need to put all of our effort in to creating bulletin boards!
Loved Students
In the end, as the quote above states, you will find students in my classroom who are loved and are having fun while they are learning. If you really think about it, do the students necessarily care about how clean our teacher desk is or how great the bulletin boards are? They may love the bulletin boards at first, but what they really care about is that they are cared for and loved by their teacher and that they enjoy coming to school everyday!