Grading is one type of feedback. It happens to be the least effective and the most time-consuming. Grades are primarily for parents and colleges. Feedback is primarily for student learning. Let’s not equate the two.

Assumption Two: The students who deserve A’s will get A’s, those who deserve B’s will get B’s, those who deserve C’s will get C’s, regardless of the grading system you use.

These two assumptions can generate a host of time saving strategies. Here are three examples (the next newsletter will offer further examples).

Example One: In my first year as a teacher, I was a long-term substitute for a Social Studies teacher. She had a system that saved a tremendous amount of time. She did things by the book. Every night, students were required to answer numerous questions from the textbook. Every day in class, the teacher went over the questions. She did not, however, collect the homework each day (though she did stamp homework each day for being on time). Because students received feedback in class, they learned what they needed to learn. Students were required to hold on to their homework until the day of the unit test. On that day, which came every third Friday, students brought in all their homework stapled together. The teacher wrote on the board, for example, “Please circle in red questions 4, 17C, and 25B” or “Please highlight the following two assignment titles…” The homework was circled or highlighted and collected, and then the test was passed out.

That weekend, the teacher graded the tests and the homework. She only graded three problems or two assignments out of all the student work completed over the three weeks. So, one weekend every three weeks, the teacher knew that she would be at home grading student work. The rest of the time, she never took student work home. Because she graded a representative random sample of their homework, the students received the grades that they deserved. And, because she went over the homework in class every day, the students received the feedback that they needed. And, the teacher had a life.

Example Two: Give the students a “homework quiz.” When class starts, students place their homework on their desk, along with a blank piece of paper. Then give them a short time, for example, to “Copy questions 2 and 9 from your homework onto the paper.” They get some credit for putting the proper heading on the paper (because they are present at the start of class), some credit for having the questions correct, some credit for showing their work, and some credit for having the correct answers. If you go over the homework in class after collecting the quiz (feedback), you only have to grade two of the homework questions. In truth, you could actually grade only one of them, and over the course of the school year, the students would still get the grades that they deserved.

If parents express concern that you are not grading everything their children are producing, you can respond by showing how you review everything in class. You can also share a metaphor: “The Olympic judge isn’t there every time the gymnast practices.”

Example Three: Students can grade each others’ work. One way to help ensure that they don’t cheat- have them cover their answers with yellow highlighter before swapping papers.

There are quite a number of additional ideas. Tune in to the next newsletter for additional time-saving ideas. And, please consider adding your own ideas to the blog on my website.

After years of struggle, I came up with a solution. I made a conscious decision not to eat any sweets between Thanksgiving and the December break, because the influx of holiday sugar seemed to lower my immune system. I kept my hands off parents’ cakes, the PTA’s pies, and the kids’ candy canes and chocolate. I seemed to cope better with all the stresses of the vacation and the new winter germs — and I stopped getting sick.

Let’s not only assume the best about our students- that they want to be here, want to participate, and want to learn- Let’s also assume the best about ourselves and our colleagues- that we all want to be here, want to participate, and want to appreciate and celebrate our connections with each other, as well as with our students.

This is a five disc comprehensive video series on Conscious Classroom Management, coordinated with the book and facilitator guide. These programs provide a powerful model and wealth of ideas to help veteran as well as new teachers organize and manage classrooms to improve learning.

Click here to view the trailer and for more information

Many teachers, especially new teachers and “specialty” teachers, don’t have their own classrooms. Instead, they travel from room to room. This can be quite a challenge. Here are some things you can do to minimize the stress and maximize the learning time:

“Hire” a student. If your school allows it, have a trusted student leave your classroom one minute before the bell rings to end class, lugging your materials to the next classroom. When the bell does ring, that student is standing outside the door of your new classroom, bringing the materials in and setting them up. The student can earn “extra credit” of your choosing. If it’s not allowable or doable to have a student leave your classroom early, then have that student escort you to the next class, helping you lug your materials.

In addition, you can have a student from your next classroom stay after and set things up between classes before you arrive.

Use transparencies, PowerPoint, or butcher paper to pre-write your board information. Instead of spending the time between classes writing a warm-up activity on the board, for example, write the warm-up the night before on a transparency. When you arrive at your new classroom, turn the overhead on, and you’re good to go. Or, write on butcher paper the night before. Your “hired” student can take it from one class to the next and post it on the board.

Secure wall space for your posters and for student work. Secure file cabinet space and/or shelf space for your materials.

Both of these can be problematic, in that the teacher in the room is not likely to want to yield any wall or cabinet space. However, if you are teaching one class per day in another teacher’s room, for example, and she is teaching five classes, then you should be entitled to one-sixth of the space. Because most traveling teachers are new and therefore non-tenured, most traveling teachers never speak up about the need for space. Most of the time, the teacher whose room it is will happily yield a little wall and cabinet space. Sometimes, however, the teacher is not so willing to yield. If this is the case, then consider having your mentor teacher or department head or administrator go to bat for you. As a mentor, I have requested wall and file space in the room on behalf of the new teacher, and let the teacher know up front that it was my request, as opposed to that of the new teacher. In this way, I was the one who received any negativity that came up, thus freeing up my mentee to work in harmony with that teacher.

Once you have cabinet space, photocopy class sets of handouts that you may need, and place them in each of your classrooms. For example, there’s seven minutes left in class, and the students are finishing an activity. If only you had that poem or worksheet or math handout, you could keep them on task for the rest of the period. Because you don’t want to have to lug a class set (or series of class sets) around with you all the time, place your handouts in each classroom, and store them in a file cabinet or drawer in advance, so that you can pull them out on a moment’s notice.

Use wall space to post student work, announcements, personal touches about yourself, or anything else you might do if the room were actually yours.

Change the seating arrangement. If you would prefer a different seating arrangement than what exists in the classroom, change it. For example, if the room is set up with desks in groups of four, and you would prefer rows, simply have your students change the seating arrangement at the start of class, and then move things back at the end of class. The amount of time spent doing this can be minimized by using visuals, such as an overhead view of the room, to get the students to set the room up as you like it. By practicing the procedure, the students will able to move desks efficiently. The stress saved by teaching in an environment that you prefer is always worth the hassle of moving desks.

Every moment we are faced with a new opportunity to be kind with ourselves exactly as we are. Our students are rarely perfect, yet we seem to be able to find ways to forgive, love, and care for them regardless. Let’s take this same kindness that we have for our students, and use it for ourselves in our own “imperfect moments.”