In my first post on Quiet Quitting, I referred to It's Lit Teaching and her first point on setting boundaries.
In this post, I am going to her second point of doing less. I began teaching in 1996. Pinterest did not exist, and the internet was just becoming more user-friendly for teaching- but I never went to the internet for teaching ideas. I had Mailbox Magazine. It was a prized possession, and I scooped up whenever I found them. I finally bought a subscription for my first year of teaching!
Cute bulletin boards were important. Early in my career, it was expected that you would change the bulletin board each month. There was even a contest (I decided I never needed to win that!) . I discovered early on that using student work was the easiest way to create a display that the administration would appreciate.
Now, with Pinterest, teachers think they should do all those lovely displays, worksheets, and activities and # teachersofinstagram-worthy things!
But you don't!
I love planning lessons- even now teaching Trig for juniors and seniors- there is a joy in planning an engaging lesson! I have always done lesson plans even if they were not required. By doing less, my less would not be in planning. Priority for all activities should be the students. You can focus more time and let some other things go.
Another area I am passionate about is grading (or decreasing grading)! But that is for another post!
As a new teacher, I did not know about committees or "other professional duties. Teaching is more than your classroom duties. You must do those things- PLCs, duty, department meetings, and faculty meetings. It is part of the job and, most likely, of the contract. These are required and cannot be lessened. But you can limit what you sign up for. Don't be the notetaker, don't be the liaison to the board/admin/etc. Do what is REQUIRED!
Overall, choosing what your focus your time on is essential. Doing less means saying no to things that are not required, are not to "look" better, or to compare with someone else doing those things.
If you want to move to administration, then, of course, you should do things to draw attention to the asset you are and build a resume of things needed to take that next step. Doing less is not a way to make an impact on your future. But if you are struggling or have a life outside of school, find ways to do less but still be a good teacher.
Next time: spend less!
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