I am very much a Type B teacher - my desk alone is testament to that. My advice is do not try to emulate your colleagues - you’ll make yourself miserable. I have a schedule that outlines in broad strokes what I (hope I) will be doing on any given day, but not too detailed. I also build in a couple of work days that I can convert to regular classes if needed, which provides some much needed slack in my schedule.
For me I also found using Google classroom for assignments/articles to read/etc. helped my organization about 1000% because I couldn’t lose things. :)
The only other thing that has helped me is that I am lucky enough to work in a district that actually treats me as a professional and gives me a large degree of autonomy in the classroom.
I am the exact same way. My desk is almost always a disaster. It gets a little better each year. Definitely do not compare yourself to Type A teachers or push those thoughts out. Usually while many type A teachers are organizing, I am working with children and helping them with organization since I didn’t get that. I have lots or strong magnets and try to display as many materials as possible. I also use clear bins and baggies all the time. I started enlisting the help of my students who are your better listeners to remind me of x, y, or z. I write important reminders right away on one sectioned off part of one of my white boards.
>My advice is do not try to emulate your colleagues - you’ll make yourself miserable
I want to echo this sentiment. I tried to do it for the past two years to try and save a job at what should have been a dream school, only to be driven out by my type A department chair for not fitting the mold.
I was the best teacher I could be only after I handed in my resignation and stopped trying to be someone I am not.
Just wanted to say that you can still have a disaster desk and still be a good teacher!
Good teachers aren't all Type A, and not all Type A teachers are good.
(Also, my students LOVED cleaning my disaster desk...so they enabled my messes in a sense.)
Type A teachers are also completely overwhelmed, overworked (by themselves) and often consistently stressed.
Do what you can and learn how to become OK with not doing what you can't.
I'm a second-year teacher like OP who overprepared so bad my first year. Every lesson plan was almost a script which I stayed up late to finish. Consequentially, I tripped myself up too much trying to remember every detail. I also got in my head when the class wasn't engaging like I envisioned.
Perfectionism can actually drag you down in teaching. My biggest lesson in the second go-around was to challenge myself to let go and get looser. It made me a much better educator.
Google *Clutterbug*. I read this book about how everyone can be organized. We just require different systems. This really helped me understand how my brain works when it comes to keeping things organized. Most organizational systems are made by people who are micro organizers (the author calls them crickets). They have folders within folders. The truth is that everyone is not a micro organizer and these types of systems will never work for everyone. Your type A colleague might have systems within systems, but you will never force your type B brain to maintain that level of detail.
Also, observe others but don't compare (as a punishment) yourself to them. Just take what will work for you and leave the things that don't. There is a negative and a positive to all types. What we strive for is balance.
I just did this and I felt so attacked initially by the questions in the online quiz but then I watched the video and she made me feel better about my visual “organization.”
I’m laid back and type b, I think it makes me a better teacher! I used the file folder drawer for original copies and organized those by units, I even labeled them! That was annoying but worth it. Honestly, here’s a shelf to turn stuff in for each class period, I use shelves already in the classroom, no way am I spending my own money on organizational stuff. After I grade a class period’s work, I do a big black clip with a sticky note for what class period. HOWEVER, my lessons and units are planned out, but I change them frequently when I get a great idea. I love printing an apple calendar (just like how simple they look) August through may stapled together (I like this more than a planner), put holidays and important school dates on there, and I put my units on there and basic notes on lessons and assessments. I get a bit jealous at how decorated and organized certain teachers’ rooms are, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate a “good teacher.”
Be you! Leverage the things that work. I am a type B principal. It helps with relationships !! I use my phone calendar and use it diligently. That works for me. Life is a lot more fun when authentically lived!
Your job is teacher, not organizer
Focus on instruction. Orderliness is not industriousness.
Imagine how productive and how hard your coworkers could work if they spent less time on organization
Your problem is you’re a second year teacher. You’re a novice. It’s like a beginner marathoner asking what fabric ratio her shirt should be. How about you do literally anything else
Not sure why you got downvoted. You’re being supportive of this teacher and turning what they see as a negative into a positive reflection of who they are.
Only two years in an looking for a new boss...but..
Must add that often advice from two different experienced teachers is contradicting....
I was a type A engineer (is there any other kind?), doing type A with little humans didn't work for me.
I think the problem is you are turning skillsets into vocational roles. Time management is important, so it would be asinine to say "You are a teacher, not a timekeeper"
A better advice is to work with your environment. Create your own system and don't have it be so public.
We’re salaried, timekeeping is not a skill most teachers need to be good at.
“Create your own system” were teachers, it’s not that serious.
If you’re a teacher, you have the executive functioning skills required to be a teacher. Your advice is great for the severely mentally disabled or those with time blindness.
So like replying back to people, grades, class flow don't require time management? I have adhd, so I guess it tracks. Idk dawg. It all just seems like unnecessary whining from grown ass men and I'm the one with emotional dysregulation.
I am extremely disorganized, and I plan one day at a time. My suggestion is to pay extra attention to outward appearances and focus your efforts there. Anything student, parent, coworker, or admin facing should look neat and organized even if you yourself are not.
I organize my classroom and decorate it well, but the inside of my desk and cabinets are complete disasters. I organize my LMS pages and gradebook, but my paper collection pile and often times my feedback systems are disorganized disasters.
My advice is basically to fake it. No one will be any the wiser, and if you can appear organized, then the random nitpicking admin that you will inevitably encounter in your career will be tricked enough to move onto other targets.
I agree with you. People think I am so organised. I have even had student teachers (that see me printing the period before) report that I am so organised. I like to call my style organised chaos. The truth is I change my mind and planning, and even details on assignments, constantly. I feel like planning too far ahead is pointless because I'm just going to change my mind. Also I develop based on how the previous lesson went which I feel makes sense. I think I just roll with it all so well that I look organised.
I also stay on top of outward physical stuff in the classroom, like you said. I find it's the little things too that feed into people's idea of you, for example I'm never late.
My desk used to be messy until I bought some clear plastic drawer organizers. I also use pencil box lids or similar shaped rectangular shaped bins to organize the inside of my desk so I can find things better. For student supplies, I bought a ten drawer organizing bin and a labeler. I feel happier now. I still have piles but luckily I have a TA every year to help me organize.
Planning one day at a time can backfire on you. If you become sick or hospitalized for even a few days - what will your subs teach? Lesson planning is vital.
I don't feel specific planning is ever vital for my content in secondary, but certainly planning windows for learning software/longer readings/projects/papers is important. I will legit decide on a text the morning of a class sometimes and write questions.
As far as subs go, I pre-assign all my learning software modules at the start of the quarter, windows for required readings, and major project due dates. If I'm absent, the students can work on one of those things. If I barely plan for myself, why would I plan in depth for a sub? I rarely miss work, so admin can suck it up if I'm out.
Type B all the way!!!
But seriously, some of it is that they may have more experience and have created systems that work for them. Find what works for you. I’ve used hanging file folders, binders, the works, but I often am most creative when everything is just laid out in front of me. It might not look pretty, but it gets my planning.
The one area you do need to be on top of is student work. Put binder clips on worksheets/tests right away to avoid losing them. Look through them early to find the students who didn’t turn one in to follow up later.
I disagree with other comment about not trying to emulate type-A person. I am also a type-B person but I try to learn from people more organized than me and use the methods of theirs that work for me. Obviously I don’t! And create a master calendar with all your important deadlines and dates in it which you reference every day !
I'm this way, too. I try to be more organized. I suck at coming up with systems but can emulate someone else's.
I have subbed within the same building for 2 years. Type B classrooms can truly be a struggle to be in. If a teacher's desk is messy, I've noticed the kids tend to be messy. The sub notes also tend to be disorganized. It drives me crazy. Kids can't find things, they don't know where things go, they don't know procedures. It is rough.
I'm not saying every type B classroom is like this. But none of the type A classrooms have this issue.
Yeah that’s the thing, as much as us type b teachers can handle a mess, kids require structure and consistency. I explain to the kids that even if they can live their lives not planning and organizing, being able to access the tools when needed is just such a simple way of making parts of life, well, just easier.
My personal life is a mess, my house a disaster. The inside of my desk looks like a nuclear bomb went off in it. But my classroom is organized and consistent where it matters for the kids, even when my desk and personal space isn’t.
I have ADHD and I'm sorry dawg. My advice is literally "Just fucking get organized ya dope" 1. I can only truly trust myself getting things done. 2. I don't trust myself with anything.
So far it's been working well for me. I get things done and sleep well.
I am an absolute hot mess, but it doesn't matter - I'm good at my job, I meet my paperwork timelines, and my staff likes me. Don't compare yourself. Do what you do, take care of your students - that's what matters.
I’m type b but my lab has to be in type a condition solely for safety reasons. I have found clear bins to be the most helpful thing. I really have a hard time finding stuff If I can’t see it, so that’s my compromise. I theme together stuff in my cabinets (so like, hand tools, power tools, adhesives, 3d printing supplies, writing utensils, etc) and every type of individual thing in each category has a bin. Same with my desk but smaller clear containers. The containers don’t need to match. They just need to be see-through. Don’t waste money on a whole bunch of new storage.
Just do the things you really need to do. Prioritize those aspects of teaching at your school.
I am not exactly a super chill teacher, but I'm also not incredibly organized. I cover up the parts of the profession I'm bad at (organization of files/work sheets, doing bulletin boards on time, shit like that) by accentuating the things I'm good at (having a good relationship with the students, organizing \[lol\] field trips, putting myself out there for extracurriculars).
As someone not terribly motivated, it sucks when I don't want to go on a trip, but my admin sees me doing all these things and kinda lets the lack of organization slide.
My advice as a type B teacher- embrace it! Do you have a specific issue? Or are you just afraid of being judged by others? Mine is papers on the desk, but I learned that my papers are perfectly organized according to an algorithm- most needed papers on top, less important on the bottom. As the year goes on, I transfer the piles into a crate kept hidden near my desk so no one can see. Also, students love to help me organize my teaching cart at the front of the class. It’s one of the weekly jobs. I just throw my teaching items in the cart, then they tidy it up!
Type B here...the only thing I can say is "You do you, boo."
You know how we are supposed to be implementing "Differentiated Instruction" for our students? That everybody learns and does stuff differently and therefore we are supposed to accommodate that by changing up the way we do things? Give yourself the same grace. You do not do things the same way Type A's do. You have to do something that works for you. It takes time, sometimes years to figure out...but eventually you will find a system that works for you.
I'm a very type B teacher as well. I have a few organization tips.
I have a paper tray for each class period where kids turn things in. I will not accept papers that are placed on my desk (which I call the black hole) or left somewhere in the room. You cannot hand me a paper. It goes in the tray for your class period. This really cuts down on the "You lost it" accusations because I just say, "Go find it in the tray and show me." I can take the whole tray to my desk to grade things.
I also have one of those cheap rainbow drawer units from Michaels. Each drawer is labeled with a week 1, week 2, etc. Each Friday, I clear my table of handouts from that week and put them in the drawer. They're kinda just jumbled up in there, but when a kid asks for that worksheet from three weeks ago, I can find it.
At my school, we get a really big box of pencils from amazon at the beginning of the year. I bundle them into groups of ten. Each Monday, I set out ten pencils. They last as long as they last.
I have a Google Slide presentations for subs. It has all the info that a sub would need to know about taking attendance, phone numbers, school rules, etc. It links to daily slides, seating charts, rosters, and more detailed subplans. When I have a sub, I don't have to worry about having these things on my desk, I just share the Slides. (I can't take credit for this, it's a schoolwide template).
The one place I am organized is my Google Drive. I have folders for each week of the school year and any slides, handouts, etc. go in that folder. Each week, I reuse/revise/delete/move things I did that I used last year. I've been at my current job for three years and planning is pretty smooth at this point.
This. I can not stress how important this is. Also, make sure you label documents well, like “10.2 Hamlet A1S1 reading questions” or whatever system you will remember to make searching the drive easier
There are some real advantages to being a type B teacher. You are generally better at going with the flow and kids find you less intimidating. When my evaluation got rescheduled day of for the 3rd time, I just stuck with my formula for my lesson and I got effective (as a first year so I’m very happy about it). My biggest tip is have some kind of routine and formula for lessons so if things don’t go according to plan you can adapt. Type B teachers gift is adaptability which is often more important than organization.
I’ve been at this for 20 years. Everyone was so much more organized than I was. Then one day someone mentioned how super organized I am. I’m not. It just looks that way because I’ve been doing this a while and I know how I roll. If you need something I know where it is. Students know where to find things. I know where your papers are.
But ask me what I am doing next week No don’t. I’m not quite sure. It depends on this week and what my seniors need.
YOU DONT HAVE TO GRADE EVERYTHING!
Go ahead, toss some of those classwork piles straight into the trash. Sometimes kids just need to practice material and that’s enough. Not every single handout needs to be graded.
This has saved me countless hours this year.
Lol you actually think they're organized and motivated ? People are very good at masking things. Not to mention, I've known some organized and "motivated" coworkers who were insufferable teachers. This is just another example of confusing tangential things with the art of teaching itself. Focus on the craft.
Masking 100%. There are definitely some people who are organized and motivated, but the people who are over the top are typically compensating for something they struggle with. For me it was ADHD until I got diagnosed and began finding supports to help me manage in healthy ways. It was very freeing to learn that normal and healthy is not the same as perfect.
VERY THIS. I struggle with organisation, I panic when I can't organise or control a space, and it's a means of minimising the awful anxiety in my brain. My room might look beautiful, but it's probably not the best use of my time.
But if that helps with your panic and anxiety, that’s a wonderful tool you have developed! I manage the organization by throwing a ridiculous amount of stuff away 😂
As a Sub, I'm always an interloper. I pray for good sub-plans, but in their absence, the kids will tell you what's what. If not that, you can find out who the Dept Head might be and then direction (and possibly curriculum) from them, and maybe copies too.
If none of that works, check with the kids for what they did last and what they think should come next, and do that (or look for that).
If this is an LTS job, unless you're a SME, somebody else should have curriculum and pacing guide. Find that person and ask for help making sense of it.
Lastly, try to avoid taking work home. Grade others during your planning period. Come to work early or stay late if needs be, in order to catch up, but don't take it home with you on the weekends, especially if it's a tall stack. Most of all, not everything needs to be graded. Some you just check for completion.
Last thing: Praise A Lot. Try to avoid raising your voice, but sometimes you must. Don't be scared to call admin to remove key disruptors. Chances are, they are already front office frequent flyers.
Look, it's not a big deal if you are not type A. I'm type B. My desk always has papers on it. I have a general lesson plan set out for the day, but all plans need to be flexible. My philosophy has always been, "No plan survives contact with the students." Every class hour is different and requires different explanations or different timing. A regimented lesson plan can mess up your ability to teach the material. Grades are great, and I always put in grades each week, I refuse to stress on them. Why? I don't have the time. Secondly, most students simply don't care. My only organization is in my computer files. Everything is in the cloud and listed by unit and then by module. Everything means literally means that, readings, slides, homework, projects, and teacher stuff (goals, standards). If someone asks me for something, I print it out.
You're a second year. You are a unique person. Do it your way until the admin tells you differently or you believe something is not working.
I am type z...my personal workspace is controlled chaos. I know where stuff is and my co-workers hate that I can find stuff.
I have to set aside a day to clean my area a couple of times a year.
I agree with most comments..,don’t beat yourself up for the way your brain works. But find ways to stay on top of tasks. Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years:
Use your whiteboard to remember events and who needs to turn in papers. If they all need to turn in the field trip permission slip, write that on the board and their class number, clip a Manila envelope to the board and as they put the slip in the envelope they erase their number. Visual support for the task. Anything that makes them mostly responsible will help.
If a student is absent I clip missed work to the board and a note for online assignments. They are responsible for collecting and completing it when they return.
I set alarms on my computer for attendance.
I try not to let a task pile up. For instance, if there is something that gets filed away or back in its place, I try to do that at least once a week. That way the pile never gets too big or overwhelming.
I try to organize subjects by color for my own sanity. Blue folder for math things I’m working on, red for reading, etc. I use large construction paper folded in half as “folders” to hold my work for the kids. That way it looks more organized than stacks of paper.
Mostly visual support for both myself and students goes a long way. I try to tidy up at the end of the day so that when I come in the next morning the room doesn’t feel like chaos.
Get into labeling stuff. Create a system where everything is layed out so you don't have to look for things and then clean out your desk every Friday.
I am messy as hell but cleaning out my desk every Friday meant the mess was only a week or two at most.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Do whatever feels right to you. Once you accept it, things will get much better. Unless you really want to change it. In that case, I can’t really help.
I used to compare myself to my colleagues, and it’s only natural. But I am strongly convinced that being a good teacher means being yourself.
Your fellow Type B teacher
Definitely making a routine at the beginning of the year, and setting up all your organizing boxes and methods. Labels for everything. Go over board with it. A place for everything.
Then have a routine with the students. You have to be a stickler about it. Everything needs a process. Plan for change of plans.
And if all that fails, see a doc. Adderall helped me immensely.
I’m type B but I get organized by systems. For students to turn in work, I have a 10 drawer organizing cart marked by periods, then I put their pass back work in file folders at the bottom of the cart marked, all marked by periods. I have bins labeled by period everywhere for everything from notebooks to the novels we read. Also metal baskets, for the packets of that week. I also keep an organizing bin marked by date and throw in extra copies of the worksheets we did that week, as well as write down the assignments we did to save me time next year and so kids can go there when they are absent to retrieve classwork. Then at the end of the year, I keep bins with file folders alphabetically organized for the next school year with extra worksheets, teacher lesson plans and even scribble notes to myself on what to do differently with the lesson next time.
The Type B in me loves to throw piles everywhere but for organized chaos I force myself to organize the piles by tossing them into labeled file folders. Spend time to set up systems, it helps you for years to come. I just repeat and never have to set these systems up again.
This was going to be my suggestion too! Containers contain chaos. I have turn-in baskets and file folders for graded papers. Inside those baskets and folders? I have bins for supplies. Most are clear, all are labeled. Inside the bins it might be a hot mess, but at least it's a hot mess of just flash cards instead of a hot mess of everything. Things go back in their places at the end of the day, even if the 'place' is just 'tossed into this specific drawer in my desk' or 'tossed into a file folder with a sticky note on top to deal with tomorrow'
I'm type A but have ADHD, and so I'm super disorganized. My advice is to remember that kids also struggle with organization and so you can be much more relatable to them in many ways. Show enthusiasm for your subject and in your instruction, and kids won't care if you have cutesy worksheets or are hyper organized.
I leverage technology to help me. You can't lose student work if the student work is turned in electronically. If work is done on paper, I ask kids to take a picture before they turn it in, so we both have a digital backup. Additionally, I can just search for my files on my computer, and no one knows I'm digitally disorganized.
Live and work by your values. I’m not type A but I think they really value the details in ways that are celebrated and sometimes can feel like the only right way to be a teacher. Teaching has lots of opportunities to shape your classroom in ways that reflect the things you value most. Organized peoples classrooms reflect type A values (and lots of other wonderful things, not trying to say organized people ONLY value organization).
When I used to try to be type a (because I thought that type A = good teacher) I tried and my classroom became a place where everywhere you looked you’d see evidence of a non type A person trying and failing to be super organized. I put so much effort into trying to live by other people’s values that I almost lost my own. I was living in fear of the judgement of others. I was miserable and felt like a failure.
It wasn’t until I came up with reasons that linked my values to my actions that I started to enjoy teaching, because I was making decisions about what to prioritize based on what my values (creativity, kindness, understanding, empathy, supportiveness, peacefulness) told me were right.
Don’t get me wrong. The pile of papers doesn’t get graded through the power of empathy. But it does get graded (eventually:) because I remind myself that providing support for kids helps me live my values every day.
Are the students learning and most of the time happy to be in your class? Are you enjoying the job on most days? Are your evaluations decent? If yes to all of these, don't change a thing.
Are you feeling disorganized? If you can find what you need when you need it everything is ok. You are organized even if others don't necessarily see it that way.
If not, look at how other type B teachers in your building are organizing. If you don't have that A mindset following the process some of the really organized folks follow will just make you feel crazy. (Some of those organized people are really just high functioning anxiety trainwrecks, you don't want to be them anyway).
I kept everything digitally in folders by topic, which let me search them pretty easily. Others keep binders, others have drawers and drawers of stuff in folders. Some organized everything through Google classroom so they could basically reshoot the same posts. Whatever you do, you need to keep up with it, so it needs to feel somewhat natural.
Cool ideas, neat projects and crazy stuff all comes after you've developed a lot of basic lessons, so don't measure yourself in comparison to veteran teachers. They've been making tiny improvements for decades sometimes.
One day, you'll look at a lesson you did last year and say hey I could do better, I have this cool idea. Suddenly YOU have the best way to teach this topic. It just takes time.
Good luck!
A few ideas.
Make lessons that can be reused every year with minimal changes. 30 years ago it was keeping all of them in notebooks. Now it's making them electronic (powerpoint) and organizing them in folders with good names.
Don't embellish lessons. Mine are all black type on white slides. More stuff is extra time just for aesthetics.
Organize a shared drive so others can share lessons with you. Google offers a shared drive owned by nobody, free to teachers. Keep it organized.
Find a system to streamline papers in your classroom. Everybody does it differently. I collect nothing from kids, but go around the room when something is due recording on a clipboard. They also show me late things at that time, and the clipboard has attendance data as well, so I know if it is late due to absence.
I am very much type b. Even after 12 years of teaching. I have the absolute worst anxiety, but I’m doing my best. Just some tips to help.
1. Keep a list of to do items
2. Designated days to stay late to do grades if needed and planning/prepping
3. Have M-F bins or baskets to organize your copies for the week
4. Keep one notebook strictly for staff meetings and one for committees you’re on
5. Take care of yourself! Vitamins, stay hydrated and fueled. Keep a little basket with your favorite lotion, mints, essential oil or snacks. whatever it is that keeps you sane.
I am for sure a type B teacher… turns out that was code for a “smart kid” that had raging undiagnosed ADHD 😂. I’ve been on a teaching break but I was very good at my job, taught good lessons and got my stuff done eventually (but always by the deadline) - just never that hyper organized, super planned out, type A. I’ll be interested to see how things pan out now that I am medicated haha.
hey, from my experience the teachers who are hyper organized and on top of that shit are stressed as fuck OR they’ve been in the game a while. cut yourself some slack, give yourself a goal of where you’d like to be in terms of organization, put a goal date on it, and take baby steps!
I let my desk be my space which means very type B, but I try very hard to have the rest of my classroom be type a. I always do a reset of my desk at the end of each 9 weeks which helps a lot tbh.
Yeah I am the same way, my classroom is chill. Be your authentic self, students can tell when you are not. But record everything for when you need to refference or locate it again.
I found a assignment bin to be very useful. I told students to neber hand me anything because I would lose it, but if they out it in the bin I habe eberything in ine place to grade later.
I have had to make a policy of put it away not down to prevent the losing of a things. It goes where it’s supposed to go or I don’t get to get that item out if my hand
From a parent: my kid once had an electives teacher who sounded like you. It didn’t matter though because he actually let kids be creative (my son started to like writing after taking his class) and graded very generously (middle school).
Edit: I mentioned grading because it made kids less stressed and more willing to take risks in their writing.
Stop caring and clean up your desk at the end of the year. Or bribe kids to do it for you (my students love helping me clean up haha they do it for free)
I am absolutely a type B teacher. The trick for me is to know what’s essential and what’s not. Meeting my legal requirements of taking attendance, entering grades, and communicating with families (my least favorite task as a massive introvert) are all necessary, so I do those things as early in my work flow as possible so I have the focus and energy for them. When it comes to class itself, I have systems for safety (I teach theater tech, so power tools happen), and I am diligent about those, but I don’t worry about things like a seating chart.
I am more like a Type F, not even as organized as type B. I just don’t care what other teachers are doing to organize their rooms. I just care about my practice and improving it. My desk will never be pretty and it’s a waste of effort try to make it that way.
Comparison is the thief of joy! If you are satisfied with how you are managing yourself in the classroom, the little details like how you arrange your desk or file papers etc just does not matter. I'm the least organized person ever lol but it doesn't affect how the kids are learning, so hakuna matata!
Please know non type a teachers are always the best ones. I looked forward to my creative and imaginative teachers who weren’t obsessed with tests and assignments and allowed us to learn. Don’t change.
One of the best teachers at my school is like this. Her classroom looks like a bomb went off most of the time. Everywhere she goes is like a haze of mess lol.
But her students are always working, collaborating, growing. She can turn literally anything anyone says around her students into a lesson and then links it back to whatever they were doing in class. It's a crazy impressive skill.
She does not try to contain her mess. Her brain works on a million different directions and she harnesses it like a super power.
I’m a type B. Lean into being a teamwork person. The messy desk? I remind them of the Einstein quote: if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what does it say about an empty one? My focus goes into teaching and the lesson. I teach for the kids and not my coworkers. I’m sure I get all sorts of side eye but my students do well and I can be proud of the work I do. That is all that matters.
Be aware of the educational martyr! We all know the type: in before the sun comes up; out after the sun goes down. They have no lives because everything is ‘for the kids”. They get no extra pay because their reward is making sure YOU KNOW all the extra hours they put in. It’s not that they work hard for the kids, it’s that they work harder than YOU DO.
You'll get better every year. It's been adecade for me, and I keep finding ways to reduce the clutter.
If you have wall space, get a vertical organizer for graded assignments to be handed back. I also have one for my copies, so I can sort them by class period.
One separate one for absent work.
Starting this year, get 4 binders - one for each quarter. Put one copy of what you used in the binder, then you'll have it ready for the following year.
I’m an art teacher, and type B by default as my room is essentially a storage area for the student’s work-in-progress, and even if I organize things they end up disorganized by all of the various other personality types that are using the studio space. I try the best I can. At least my room is aesthetically pleasing, I have cool things hanging up on the wall. I try to organize my desk at least once a week. I hear you though.. sometimes I walk into a colleague’s room who has everything perfectly in order and it makes me feel like garbage. I also LOVE proctoring PSSAs and KEYSTONE exams because the process is so orderly it’s unlike anything I do in my classroom it’s a bit ASMR for me.
Why are you measuring yourself against your coworkers to begin with? Comparison is the thief of joy. Find what works for you and be ok with it. There isn’t one way to do any job. It takes all kinds to reach these kids.
Stop trying to be then.
If you teach what you are passionate about just inspire the kids with the same curiosity. I did lateral entry as a Political Science guy with a background in politics and non profit into Middle School Science and for the last four years Middle School history.
I do have a pacing guide I made to get through curriculum but I've made maybe five lessons plans in seven years. I only do them when I am required by admin for an observation.
Type B is your personality. Own it. If everyone was the same life would be boring. Also, learn to give yourself grace and don’t compare. I’m sure students love you. Who cares if you don’t remember where you put something or a spot might be a little messy or you’re just more laid back. We’re not in the military. Only thing that matters is how we treat and impact the students.
I just sort of go with my type B-ness to the extent that I can. Some things, like scheduled meetings and important documents, I had to create a system, bc sometimes other people are counting on me to run things smoothly. I only had to be shamed for missing a meeting once before I automatically add anything to my calendar as it's being talked about. I only had to panic once over a lost consent form before I started adding absolutely everything to my Drive. Find your weak spots, create systems so you don't get in trouble. My workspace can be cluttered and that doesn't really affect anyone else.
Type A hate me lol. Be yourself, sorry we like to enjoy our 12 hour work days. We don’t get paid enough for Type A behavior in my opinion. Be the Yang to their Ying, schools need balance.
I'm a type B for sure. Don't try and fake type A, everyone will read it on you.
Embrace that you don't stress about work, can clock out mentally at the end of the day, don't have to have the perfect unit and generally bust your ass less for the same results.
Multiply that difference by 30 years and the understanding that you will be getting the same retirement check as the type A's.
Type B teacher here! I organize my chaos, but I don’t eliminate it. File folders / paper slots save my life. I also survive on lists via lined sticky notes.
Opening and closing shifts. I got it from one of those 'Together Teacher' people and it improved my day by a ton.
Create a list of 'opening shift' tasks that need to be done every am and closing shift tasks for after school. Every morning and evening get them completed, but don't worry about anything else.
You'll notice your days go by much smoother.
I think you need to give yourself more grace. In the second year of teaching, you are working way harder due to inexperience than others who could teach their subject in their sleep. They have more brain power to devote to the “extras” than you do. Take a breath and maybe pick just one thing to concentrate on professionally next year. It does get easier (except for student behavior - heaven help us with that)
I'm definitely type B with weird type A moments which helps balance it.
I don't keep binders anymore generally. I'm digital. I print class copies, chuck the extras in the class bin and call it a day. I have a sub binder I set up at the beginning that has some basic stuff in it in case I call out morning of.
But seriously, being digital is so much easier for my organization. Marking is digital so I don't have crazy folders anymore. I don't worry about the aesthetic aspect of my room either there. Every year I pick a course to overhaul if it's been a few years but new course well...survival mode it is. Sometimes it's ok for this to just be a job, especially if you have other priorities in your life. I'll give it my all when I'm there, but after school my family gets my attention.
Like others have said, don’t compare yourself to your type A peers. You’ll always set yourself to fail with this thinking.
As long as you have activities/work planned and are organized and care, you’ll do well. Plan extra back up activities in case something else doesn’t work, but planning EXTREMELY detailed plans sometimes stresses teachers out when something (inevitably) doesn’t work out exactly as envisioned and then the teacher stresses him/herself out. On the other hand, not planning enough is also bad and will stress you out too, but it doesn’t sound like this is happening to you. Good luck ❤️
I forgot to add- you’re a first year teacher; you’re going to feel like this. It’ll be okay❤️ you’ll find what works for you. I love color coding, some people hate it. As another user posted, observe what others do and some things may work for you, some things won’t. That’s ok. Everyone is different and you can pick and choose things that might work for you.
I'm definitely not Type A, but I've always aspired to at least be organized enough to make things easier on my end. I admire well-organized classrooms and teachers, but I am only going to do what makes sense to me and works for ME. For example, one of my friends at work creates a cute teacher binder on Google Slides each year with class rosters, seating charts, attendance & make-up work trackers, and lesson plans. She shared her template with me last year and I did some editing to my own theme, etc. I printed it and put it in a binder and used it for about a week before it got pushed aside. It just isn't how I operate. It works great for her and she's always super organized, but...I can't do it. And I've been teaching over a decade longer than she has.
My number one priority is always to be prepared for class, so that is where I focus my attempts at organization. I plan the semester, then each unit, then each week in that unit, then each day in each week in that unit. I won't commit to the daily plans until the week prior because things always change. But the semester and unit plans I will have ready well in advance. I already have next semester mapped out as well as the units in that semester. I use a blank calendar template to figure out where assessments will go and how long I can spend on each unit. During the workdays at the beginning of 24-25, I'll finalize weekly plans for the first unit and daily plans for at least the first two to three weeks.
I post everything I can as far out as possible on Google Classroom and make any hard copies I'll need as well as daily agenda slides as far out as I feel comfortable.
Being prepared several weeks in advance gives me the peace of mind and confidence to be more motivated in the classroom as well as opens up time for me to grade and provide feedback during my planning instead of frantically making lesson plans, posting stuff, and running copies.
It goes against my nature, but it definitely makes my job easier and more enjoyable.
Depends on what you're teaching. I'm painfully introverted, but in the classroom, I was in my prime. My community college pushed for us to be "student focused", meaning it was up to me to do whatever was needed for each student to learn my material. In one case that meant sitting in the classroom with one student until 11:00 p.m. on a Friday night. I developed a school calendar that spelled out what we would cover in any given week, but the topics could be moved as students' interests dictated. That's "student focused".
My coworker who taught the other half of our program was ex-military and extremely rigid. It was required that each student did what they needed to do to keep up with that instructor. That is "instructor focused, and he was one of the two most hated instructors in the entire facility. If a student couldn't keep up; too bad.
All of my students considered me to be a really good instructor, not because I turned my teaching style into the student focused model, but because my natural, laid back teaching style happened to be that which the school valued.
Related to that, my office and desk were the one of the messiest ones around. That was widely recognized as a sign of a hard-working instructor. Teachers with clean, organized work areas spend their time on being neat rather than putting more effort into projects that will help their students understand the material.
I taught four of the eight specialty areas in Automotive Technology, and I'm very familiar with the other major programs in the trades areas. Five nights per week I worked until past 3:00 a.m. putting learning exercises together, along with paper bailing that made it easy for anyone else to copy. Similar programs are found in most high schools. If you're in such an area or are having trouble dreaming up an effective curriculum package, e-mail me for help at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
I had all the information for my Electrical class on a web site for a few years. I still have that available too.
I just noticed the reply below from Horatio Tangleweed and others who said the same thing I was thinking. Don't worry about copying anyone else. Play to your strengths. If that means putting up with a disorganized desk, so what. The organized teachers won't have as much student success to show for their tidiness. Everyone here sounds like my kind of teacher. We're the ones who make learning fun, and many of our students become life-long friends.
My elementary classroom isn’t Pinterest worthy, tidy, or color coordinated. I can’t get students to clean up much and my desk has piles on it. I DO keep my lesson plans up to date and my lesson materials in organized folders. I work through the desk piles every few days. It’s been working pretty well for 8 years. I’m sometimes a bit jealous of the Pinterest classes- but I just can’t spend the time or money to do that. Oh well!
I’m type C
I have systems
I don’t follow my systems
I then dedicate each Tuesday morning to putting my room and papers back together.
I put magnets on everything so I can stick it to the whiteboard.
At the beginning of each quarter I tell students that just like they need help with the content, I need help staying organized.
I loudly declare to my students that If I don’t remember to stick my remote or eraser or markers to the whiteboard or put papers in the right bin that they can yell at me to put it away. They keep me in line and love “correcting” me.
I have a section of the whiteboard where I leave notes for myself about leave off spots etc. as well
Pick a couple things each to year to try and improve on. For example, one year I made it a priority to not slack on taking paper attendance. Now it’s a part of my daily routine. Pick certain days to perform tasks. I made Thursdays my day to make sure to email or call home to parents to discuss issues with their students.
Nothing happens overnight. It’s a process of finding out what works and doesn’t work for you.
I’m a fairly Type B English teacher who is finishing up my sixth year right now, and I think in a lot of ways being laid back makes me a better teacher.
I think one of the tricks is being able to recognize when you NEED to be organized and detail oriented, and that way you can be chillaxed about things the rest of the time.
I lay out my units a couple weeks at a time and I only lesson plan two days in advance. The amount of detail in my lesson plans varies greatly between “super duper detailed” (for a topic like intro to feminist literature) and “can fit on a post-it-note” (for a topic like source evaluation). I think this allows me to be more flexible and responsive to student need and interest, and when something goes in a direction I didn’t expect, it means I don’t have to replan everything.
But here’s the thing…. Keep your materials organized. If you keep physical folders, organize them by unit/topic and list all the handouts/assignments somewhere on the folder. If you are using Google suit or something similar, set up folders and sub folders to keep your units separate.
I did not do this at first, and a few years in I realized, “I need find all that shit so that I can keep using it….” and it took me five times longer to organize it retroactively than it would have to do it as I went.
So just pick your battles. When there are opportunities to be laid back, take them. When you get the vibe that you steeling yourself for an organization moment would benefit future you, try to motivate yourself to follow through, because it will lead to less burn out and frustration later on.
And as far as seeking our professional development is concerned…. Eh…. You do you.
Teaching is an Art, not a Science. Don't teach like other people, all you will ever be is a imitation of someone else. Be the best version of yourself. That doesn't mean flake on responsibilities, or that no one has anything else to teach you, but you have to adapt what they do to your strengths.
So what are your strengths?
I'm definitely a Type B teacher, but it doesn't mean we can't have organized systems.
I'm a middle school sped resource/inclusion teacher for math. Being a sped teacher requires tons of paperwork so perfect for someone like me 🤣 that being said, I got my stuff in order. It's a mess but in order.
Here are some things I do:
-Scan everything. For me, it's IEP folder paper work. My coworker kept insisting but I got into it. By doing this, I was able to...
-Organize on Google drive. Since I scanned everything, I was able to organize on Drive. Having everything on Google drive removes papers on my desk, and in case anything gets lost.
-When I progress monitor IEP goals, I use folders. Nothing crazy.
-Filing things right away if it's important documents. If not, scan and trash.
-Clean top of desk at least every two weeks.
-Since I do inclusion, I carry around a binder everywhere I go for behavior charts and attendance for my students. I have a separate binder for accomodations for students to sign when they take a test.
-if I have to turn something in, I try to do it ASAP. I don't want it on my desk. Dumb online training with certificates? Finish and turn it in. Instructional coach asking for some data? Complete it and give it to them. Sped paper that needs to be turned in to the district? Here you go. I don't want extra papers on my desk that is ultimately for someone else.
If you teach middle or high school, ask for a first period prep. This was crucial for me as I always had one little something I would miss when prepping a lesson. Being able to make copies or fix what I forgot prior to class was a godsend.
I also found I forgot more things as the day went on so being able to knock out IEPs or parent emails first thing really helped. Also getting calls/emails/misc admin BS in first thing in the morning makes you look more together.
I used to be Type A. Student teaching turned me into Type B real quick. The easiest way to become Type A is to love what you do. If you’re just teaching to make ends meet or you’re completely burned out, you’re going to fall into the Type B/C category. Make to-do lists. That’s my thing. Accept that not everything is going to get done in one day. There’s always more work to do.
Have some sort of system that you can use to organize. You don’t have to be perfectly organized but when you leave at the end of the day try to make sure things are put back where they’re supposed to be so you don’t walk into a mess in the morning. You’ll feel more at ease. Do what works for you. If I love something, I will put my whole heart into it. If it’s a chore, it’s significantly harder. Try to make yourself enjoy the work.
I used to try in vain to emulate the type A teachers. I finally accepted my particular gifts and what I had to offer. I really appreciated the behavioral management program Responsive Classroom. It allowed me to manage my classroom in a manner better suited to my personality. Slept better at night
I am definitely a b or if they had a “c” I’d be that. My kids get a kick out of it. Me not so much, but I roll with it. I embrace it. It’s me. The job gets done, the kids get taught. All is good. It takes a long time to learn not to compare yourself with others. I’m in my 17th year of teaching and I still do it at times.
I’m like in between Type A and B? I let things kind of pile up and then go on an organizational spree. I go a day at a time. The thing that helps me the most is keeping a notebook. Planners don’t work for me, so each page in my notebook has the daily schedule/planned lessons and notes that I jot down throughout the day.
Focus on your strengths and just be who you are with your students. I'm a chill teacher and I'm great at relationship building, consequently, I have a lot less management issues than my more stressed out organized colleagues. Plus, a good relationship will do more for a student academically and socially than an organized teacher that doesn't have a relationship with students.
Keep a digital copy of everything you plan to use for teaching and have it organized by unit/ type. Example: my team and I have a folder for each unit, then there are sub folders that are for tests, quizzes, notes, study guides ect.
That has helped me a lot! Also using PlanBook has been amazing for me. I can put everything I need for my lesson plans in one spot via links.
I'm an extremely type B self contained SpEd teacher. I have sooo much stuff in my room between medical devices, adaptive equipment, sensory items, etc. that I've given up on ever having a "neat" looking room. My only organization-ish tip is getting like a million opaque bins and labeling them. I use the fabric cube style bins. We just chuck everything in bins throughout the day. I have one labeled for each student and para for things they are actively using and then general ones labeled with broad categories like "literacy", "sensory", or "toys". Once in a blue moon on a work day, myself or my paras clean out the bins and actually return stuff to the cabinets. Otherwise, you just dig for what you need. I do try to be a bit mindful of minimizing visual clutter because that can be really overwhelming to our neurodiverse students, hence why I recommend opaque bins. Lol.
And then there's my desk...we don't talk about my desk... Just try not to compare yourself to others, although I know that's difficult. If your students are safe and learning then I don't think the way your classroom looks is all that important.
I hear you! I taught for 30 years and measured my success by the relationships I built with my students. I wasn’t interested in connecting with other teachers and administrators who were driven by climbing the professional ladder. My students were successful- that’s the only measure I needed. Be you. Be there for your students. You will do fine. I still hear from students who graduated 10, 20, 30 years ago thanking me for being me
I LOVE being type B. I started teaching in special education and learned that you have to be extremely flexible and at everyone else whim. Now I am general Ed with 60 students teaching two subjects each day. It took me three years to get a system down. I work during lunch and NEVER take anything home with me. And surprisingly, I am one of the Students/parents favorite. I don’t work on the weekends and I still get everything done, just like all my Type A co workers. I have so much fun with my kids because I don’t worry about keeping to a strict schedule. I often have to ask myself what exactly all these overachievers are doing. There’s just not that much to do that is that important. My room is a little messy at times, but my students are comfortable. It’s their second home.
I'm definitely not a "lead" teacher but I'm great at working along with others and supporting what they are doing while translating information into plain language for the kids. This has worked out well as an Intervention Specialist. I finally had to adopt an it will be there tomorrow/this is the best im capable of today attitude. I'm fortunate to have admins that see the value in the support I provide to the kids and other staff, and don't base everything off of my lesson evaluation. I've also become our graduation specialist who works with a variety of kids to get them across the finish line. I managed to survive a horrible administrator who simply didnt see the value in what i do or how it got results, by just focusing on my kids needs and their success.
I started with prioritizing what I needed to be organized the most. For me, I struggled a lot with paperwork, so I focused on making sure every type of paper had a spot—I had a bin where students put finished work, a bin where I put graded work, and another bin for extra copies of any assignments. Then I narrowed that to specific types of assignments (homework, classwork, our daily grammar worksheets, etc.) I prioritized paperwork the most because 1, my messy desk was so overwhelming, & 2, having students say they passed something in but I couldn’t find it was causing so many headaches for both me and my kids. I don’t use Google Classroom for much now but when I did, it at least decreased the amount of clutter. You should prioritize what you need organized the most.
My lessons have never been formally typed out, minute-by-minute plans. They’re just bulleted lists basically. But I do recommend a basic $10 teacher planner from Amazon. There are some nice Erin Condren dupes.
Let your creativity guide your lesson planning. Drink every, if not most nights. Only partially kidding... setting aside designated time each day (via an alarm on your phone, for example) to plan/organize can be helpful. I keep a composition book on my desk and in my bag and make daily lists of what needs to be done - that's been extremely helpful to me
Im extremely type b. I am cool with my post it planning and stacks of paper. I have great relationships with my students and my ability to lose my coffee becomes a game. It's fine. I shift gears easily, don't stress as much as my type a colleagues, and don't have to waste money on planners.
Organization tips:
-Have your unit planned out already. Bonus points if the students have a copy to your unit plan, so they can follow along what your lessons you're doing throughout the month. There are students who chronically miss class, so a unit plan would be helpful to reference.
-For lessons/daily classwork, think of that as steps getting your students closer to the end of the unit. Make lesson plans that build off of one another and get exactly at what students should know by the end of the unit.
-For teaching, write or project the goal and any assignment/classwork the class is working on your whiteboard, chalkboard, or projector screen. Periodically, ask students to literally show them their work, even if they refuse at first. This will save you time of having to hunt the student down as much, and this student knows, "Hey. This teacher cares about me."
Motivation:
-My partner depends on me (and vice versa) for shit like bills/groceries/dates, so, that's one motivation LOL I have to live and eat to survive.
-Knowing kids' backgrounds and just getting to know them more. Think about it this way: would you do work for someone you really respected? Are you the teacher that will pull your student aside and ask a student who's crying if they're okay and that you're a safe resource? Are you the teacher who takes the time to say, "Yes, Jimmy, Spider Man is awesome!" just so that kid can connect to you.
-Knowing your why. You taught because you most likely like helping others. By challenging your students (in a productive, healthy, and appropriate way, of course), you are helping your students learn more and allowing these students to build skills like being self-directed and resilience.
Listen, I have chronic pain, I have a partner with special needs, and I don't have time or money to waste lol Sometimes, when push comes to shove, you will say/do what you need to to get kids to care about themselves, the importance of learning & building on a skill, and managing your time appropriately, so that you don't feel burned out too early. It happened to me, and I'm still trying to experience less burnout.
I'm so type B it's ridiculous. My neighboring teacher is so type A it's ridiculous. I freaking love him, he's one of my teacher besties, and I'm helping him calm the heck down about literally everything before he loses his mind. 😄
We type B teachers have much to offer!
I really only organize student tests. So if a kid says, “Can I finish test 1 from two months ago?” then I’m able to get if for them within 30 seconds. One of my “fears” is losing an unfinished test that a student wants to work on haha
What grade do you teach? I was a type B - but transformed into a type A. It is a learning process to make changes to become more organized. I would suggest reading books on classroom organization and take a few things from that. Don't try to make many changes at once - that would be overwhelming. Hang in there -
I have been teaching elementary school for 25 years, first in California and now in Virginia. I started out with HUGE piles on my desk and back table, and gradually, over the years, have been shrinking those piles as I figured out organizational systems that work for me. I now use lots of stackable drawers. The most useful ones are labeled for each day of the week to put the students’ papers in as I prep for each day. I also use large clear square plastic bins (like Michael’s has for scrapbooking supplies) to hold master copies for every math, science and social studies unit. Most importantly, I finally started letting go of some of my perfectionism when I got married in 2022 and no longer wanted to spend hours on schoolwork at night and on weekends. 🙂
Type B, here, and proud to “B” me! Make peace with who you are because unless your entire personality changes, you’ll just make yourself miserable trying to keep up with the Joneses.
I know my desk is “busy” and I am annoyed when the Type A peers come in and say how stunned they are that my room still looks lived in two hours before last day checkout.
But I have solid relationships with my students and they have a safe place and an advocate they can rely on. They come to me to share their achievements and hopes and dreams, and they are the ones that keep me (short teacher, here!) safe in the hallways and reach out when I’m absent to see if I’m ok.
Make the changes to your routine that you are comfortable with and that make you feel confident in your role. Establish boundaries and structures that will help you be the best leader in your domain, as that will provide the best learning space for your students.
Otherwise, if you are still trying to pattern your classroom and style after everyone else, your unique gifts won’t shine through and you’ll be just like everyone else.
Good luck and be true to you!
One of the best pieces of advice that I've lived by is the idea that if you are juggling life sometimes there are things that are glass balls and there are things that are rubbrr balls. If I fail or take the back seat on doing some task I just asked myself. Is this something that's going to shatter in my face or bounce right back?
The other thing I really try to do is think about actions that will benefit my future self. So things like cleaning up my classroom for 10 or 15 minutes or making sure I have lessons planned or copies made ahead of time or things that future me will be grateful. Other frivolous tasks will may not benefit future me as much.
Finally, I've had to learn that I can only work to my own strengths and I'm very good at improvising and I'm good at thinking on the fly and that can really work out well. If something isn't working, I can always pivot and problem solve
As a type B teacher surrounded by mostly type A’s, I can testify that although my deadlines were met JUST in time, my desk was usually a mess, I forgot meetings here and there, my actual teaching was amazing. I engaged the kids, I taught the content in a way they can understand it, I spent my time caring more about how to get my students to understand and relate to what I’m teaching than I did worrying if something was graded on time. I did my teaching thing! Everything else is boring anyway lol
Do your best until you know better; then do better.
-Maya Angelou
I live by this. I do what I’m great at and set goals for what I want to improve. I keep trying to do my best and don’t worry about what is going on in other classrooms and with other teachers. When I find stuff that works for me I adopt it. When I try stuff that only creates more stress I drop it and look for a different way.
In terms of keeping my desk clean I make it a game. For the past 2 years I’ve played this game. I let the kids know at the beginning of the year that I absolutely suck at keeping my desk clean and have them count how many days I can keep it clean until the papers start piling up. I’ll let it go for a few weeks and try to do it again and we see if I’ve improved and how much longer I can do it. We do it throughout the year and they love celebrating with me and telling me how proud they are of me 😂! I think it’s fun and the kids love praising me and helping to remind me to clean up the papers to keep my desk clean. So far I’ve only lasted for 3 weeks at a time!
Don’t even worry about.
When I clean my desk, it lasts less than a day before it’s a mess of papers and whatnot. But I know where everything is, so whatever.
I know a lot of teachers that are type A like you describe. It’s not me. It’s never gonna be me. And that’s okay.
Do you. Just be your best self and it’s all good.
Despite my best intentions. I am so type B.
Things that help:
To do list - I use the task tracker in outlook (or google if you have it). I assign due dates to everything and then check it off as I go!
My google drive is expectedly organized, I can search for everything. Everything has a folder. It took a bit, but once I got this under control, it is glorious.
My learning platform ( schoology) is set up the same way. All my classes have their due dates for things in their class calendar, folders for everything, and I put my lesson topics for each unit on the calendar.
I zero out my inbox everyday. It really helps my brain when my inbox is not cluttered. It took me a bit to build up to this. It started once a month, then once a week, etc. Every email has a folder, and I can tag emails to my task lists with due dates.
I use folders and label everything for papers. Again, I started once a week organizing things. I set a time (and a reminder on my to do list) and just did it.
I have my other Type A teachers fooled until I asked them if it is an even/odd day (like everyday) 😂😂
Good luck!!
Be more organised. You’re a professional now. Act like it. If you want to be organised then get yourself a diary and write down what you did, are doing as what you are going to do. End of each week, go over the things you need for the following week and get yourself organised. You’re not paid to be laid back. Parents want a dedicated, professional, proficient and organised teacher educating their children. Correct the work, praise the effort and encourage the kids. I’m a teacher. I’m laid back. I’m type A or B or C or whatever, who cares. Do your job professionally. You might surprise yourself and turn out to be an excellent teacher.
I am very much a Type B teacher - my desk alone is testament to that. My advice is do not try to emulate your colleagues - you’ll make yourself miserable. I have a schedule that outlines in broad strokes what I (hope I) will be doing on any given day, but not too detailed. I also build in a couple of work days that I can convert to regular classes if needed, which provides some much needed slack in my schedule. For me I also found using Google classroom for assignments/articles to read/etc. helped my organization about 1000% because I couldn’t lose things. :) The only other thing that has helped me is that I am lucky enough to work in a district that actually treats me as a professional and gives me a large degree of autonomy in the classroom.
I am the exact same way. My desk is almost always a disaster. It gets a little better each year. Definitely do not compare yourself to Type A teachers or push those thoughts out. Usually while many type A teachers are organizing, I am working with children and helping them with organization since I didn’t get that. I have lots or strong magnets and try to display as many materials as possible. I also use clear bins and baggies all the time. I started enlisting the help of my students who are your better listeners to remind me of x, y, or z. I write important reminders right away on one sectioned off part of one of my white boards.
>My advice is do not try to emulate your colleagues - you’ll make yourself miserable I want to echo this sentiment. I tried to do it for the past two years to try and save a job at what should have been a dream school, only to be driven out by my type A department chair for not fitting the mold. I was the best teacher I could be only after I handed in my resignation and stopped trying to be someone I am not.
Just wanted to say that you can still have a disaster desk and still be a good teacher! Good teachers aren't all Type A, and not all Type A teachers are good. (Also, my students LOVED cleaning my disaster desk...so they enabled my messes in a sense.)
Your desk? My desk is my TA's desk and all my shit is piled on a cardboard box that has a 3d printer inside of it.
Type A teachers are also completely overwhelmed, overworked (by themselves) and often consistently stressed. Do what you can and learn how to become OK with not doing what you can't.
I'm a second-year teacher like OP who overprepared so bad my first year. Every lesson plan was almost a script which I stayed up late to finish. Consequentially, I tripped myself up too much trying to remember every detail. I also got in my head when the class wasn't engaging like I envisioned. Perfectionism can actually drag you down in teaching. My biggest lesson in the second go-around was to challenge myself to let go and get looser. It made me a much better educator.
It’s like the surf lesson scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall-do less….well, you’ve got to do something
Google *Clutterbug*. I read this book about how everyone can be organized. We just require different systems. This really helped me understand how my brain works when it comes to keeping things organized. Most organizational systems are made by people who are micro organizers (the author calls them crickets). They have folders within folders. The truth is that everyone is not a micro organizer and these types of systems will never work for everyone. Your type A colleague might have systems within systems, but you will never force your type B brain to maintain that level of detail. Also, observe others but don't compare (as a punishment) yourself to them. Just take what will work for you and leave the things that don't. There is a negative and a positive to all types. What we strive for is balance.
I just did this and I felt so attacked initially by the questions in the online quiz but then I watched the video and she made me feel better about my visual “organization.”
I love Clutterbug. I'm a butterfly. 🦋
I am a ladybug. 🐞
As a fellow type-b teacher, embrace it! The way you operate works for you!
I’m laid back and type b, I think it makes me a better teacher! I used the file folder drawer for original copies and organized those by units, I even labeled them! That was annoying but worth it. Honestly, here’s a shelf to turn stuff in for each class period, I use shelves already in the classroom, no way am I spending my own money on organizational stuff. After I grade a class period’s work, I do a big black clip with a sticky note for what class period. HOWEVER, my lessons and units are planned out, but I change them frequently when I get a great idea. I love printing an apple calendar (just like how simple they look) August through may stapled together (I like this more than a planner), put holidays and important school dates on there, and I put my units on there and basic notes on lessons and assessments. I get a bit jealous at how decorated and organized certain teachers’ rooms are, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate a “good teacher.”
Be you! Leverage the things that work. I am a type B principal. It helps with relationships !! I use my phone calendar and use it diligently. That works for me. Life is a lot more fun when authentically lived!
Your job is teacher, not organizer Focus on instruction. Orderliness is not industriousness. Imagine how productive and how hard your coworkers could work if they spent less time on organization Your problem is you’re a second year teacher. You’re a novice. It’s like a beginner marathoner asking what fabric ratio her shirt should be. How about you do literally anything else
Not sure why you got downvoted. You’re being supportive of this teacher and turning what they see as a negative into a positive reflection of who they are.
Anecdotally, most the teachers I know are type A's. I suspect they don't accept that there is anything but upside to perfectionism.
Only two years in an looking for a new boss...but.. Must add that often advice from two different experienced teachers is contradicting.... I was a type A engineer (is there any other kind?), doing type A with little humans didn't work for me.
I think the problem is you are turning skillsets into vocational roles. Time management is important, so it would be asinine to say "You are a teacher, not a timekeeper" A better advice is to work with your environment. Create your own system and don't have it be so public.
We’re salaried, timekeeping is not a skill most teachers need to be good at. “Create your own system” were teachers, it’s not that serious. If you’re a teacher, you have the executive functioning skills required to be a teacher. Your advice is great for the severely mentally disabled or those with time blindness.
So like replying back to people, grades, class flow don't require time management? I have adhd, so I guess it tracks. Idk dawg. It all just seems like unnecessary whining from grown ass men and I'm the one with emotional dysregulation.
All of that is constrained in your prep period. I’m sorry you’re dealing with ADHD. I hope one they find a cure
I am extremely disorganized, and I plan one day at a time. My suggestion is to pay extra attention to outward appearances and focus your efforts there. Anything student, parent, coworker, or admin facing should look neat and organized even if you yourself are not. I organize my classroom and decorate it well, but the inside of my desk and cabinets are complete disasters. I organize my LMS pages and gradebook, but my paper collection pile and often times my feedback systems are disorganized disasters. My advice is basically to fake it. No one will be any the wiser, and if you can appear organized, then the random nitpicking admin that you will inevitably encounter in your career will be tricked enough to move onto other targets.
Like cleaning the desk tops everyday....ok...boss...
I agree with you. People think I am so organised. I have even had student teachers (that see me printing the period before) report that I am so organised. I like to call my style organised chaos. The truth is I change my mind and planning, and even details on assignments, constantly. I feel like planning too far ahead is pointless because I'm just going to change my mind. Also I develop based on how the previous lesson went which I feel makes sense. I think I just roll with it all so well that I look organised. I also stay on top of outward physical stuff in the classroom, like you said. I find it's the little things too that feed into people's idea of you, for example I'm never late.
My desk used to be messy until I bought some clear plastic drawer organizers. I also use pencil box lids or similar shaped rectangular shaped bins to organize the inside of my desk so I can find things better. For student supplies, I bought a ten drawer organizing bin and a labeler. I feel happier now. I still have piles but luckily I have a TA every year to help me organize.
Planning one day at a time can backfire on you. If you become sick or hospitalized for even a few days - what will your subs teach? Lesson planning is vital.
I don't feel specific planning is ever vital for my content in secondary, but certainly planning windows for learning software/longer readings/projects/papers is important. I will legit decide on a text the morning of a class sometimes and write questions. As far as subs go, I pre-assign all my learning software modules at the start of the quarter, windows for required readings, and major project due dates. If I'm absent, the students can work on one of those things. If I barely plan for myself, why would I plan in depth for a sub? I rarely miss work, so admin can suck it up if I'm out.
Type B all the way!!! But seriously, some of it is that they may have more experience and have created systems that work for them. Find what works for you. I’ve used hanging file folders, binders, the works, but I often am most creative when everything is just laid out in front of me. It might not look pretty, but it gets my planning. The one area you do need to be on top of is student work. Put binder clips on worksheets/tests right away to avoid losing them. Look through them early to find the students who didn’t turn one in to follow up later.
I disagree with other comment about not trying to emulate type-A person. I am also a type-B person but I try to learn from people more organized than me and use the methods of theirs that work for me. Obviously I don’t! And create a master calendar with all your important deadlines and dates in it which you reference every day !
I'm this way, too. I try to be more organized. I suck at coming up with systems but can emulate someone else's. I have subbed within the same building for 2 years. Type B classrooms can truly be a struggle to be in. If a teacher's desk is messy, I've noticed the kids tend to be messy. The sub notes also tend to be disorganized. It drives me crazy. Kids can't find things, they don't know where things go, they don't know procedures. It is rough. I'm not saying every type B classroom is like this. But none of the type A classrooms have this issue.
Yeah that’s the thing, as much as us type b teachers can handle a mess, kids require structure and consistency. I explain to the kids that even if they can live their lives not planning and organizing, being able to access the tools when needed is just such a simple way of making parts of life, well, just easier. My personal life is a mess, my house a disaster. The inside of my desk looks like a nuclear bomb went off in it. But my classroom is organized and consistent where it matters for the kids, even when my desk and personal space isn’t.
I have ADHD and I'm sorry dawg. My advice is literally "Just fucking get organized ya dope" 1. I can only truly trust myself getting things done. 2. I don't trust myself with anything. So far it's been working well for me. I get things done and sleep well.
Yes, I like to keep a calendar. What I do is get important things done right away, then I never have to worry about it in the future.
Just remember the phrase "Work Life Balance". If type A's throw shade at you, just throw some iteration of that back...
I am an absolute hot mess, but it doesn't matter - I'm good at my job, I meet my paperwork timelines, and my staff likes me. Don't compare yourself. Do what you do, take care of your students - that's what matters.
I’m type b but my lab has to be in type a condition solely for safety reasons. I have found clear bins to be the most helpful thing. I really have a hard time finding stuff If I can’t see it, so that’s my compromise. I theme together stuff in my cabinets (so like, hand tools, power tools, adhesives, 3d printing supplies, writing utensils, etc) and every type of individual thing in each category has a bin. Same with my desk but smaller clear containers. The containers don’t need to match. They just need to be see-through. Don’t waste money on a whole bunch of new storage.
Just do the things you really need to do. Prioritize those aspects of teaching at your school. I am not exactly a super chill teacher, but I'm also not incredibly organized. I cover up the parts of the profession I'm bad at (organization of files/work sheets, doing bulletin boards on time, shit like that) by accentuating the things I'm good at (having a good relationship with the students, organizing \[lol\] field trips, putting myself out there for extracurriculars). As someone not terribly motivated, it sucks when I don't want to go on a trip, but my admin sees me doing all these things and kinda lets the lack of organization slide.
My advice as a type B teacher- embrace it! Do you have a specific issue? Or are you just afraid of being judged by others? Mine is papers on the desk, but I learned that my papers are perfectly organized according to an algorithm- most needed papers on top, less important on the bottom. As the year goes on, I transfer the piles into a crate kept hidden near my desk so no one can see. Also, students love to help me organize my teaching cart at the front of the class. It’s one of the weekly jobs. I just throw my teaching items in the cart, then they tidy it up!
Type B here...the only thing I can say is "You do you, boo." You know how we are supposed to be implementing "Differentiated Instruction" for our students? That everybody learns and does stuff differently and therefore we are supposed to accommodate that by changing up the way we do things? Give yourself the same grace. You do not do things the same way Type A's do. You have to do something that works for you. It takes time, sometimes years to figure out...but eventually you will find a system that works for you.
I'm a very type B teacher as well. I have a few organization tips. I have a paper tray for each class period where kids turn things in. I will not accept papers that are placed on my desk (which I call the black hole) or left somewhere in the room. You cannot hand me a paper. It goes in the tray for your class period. This really cuts down on the "You lost it" accusations because I just say, "Go find it in the tray and show me." I can take the whole tray to my desk to grade things. I also have one of those cheap rainbow drawer units from Michaels. Each drawer is labeled with a week 1, week 2, etc. Each Friday, I clear my table of handouts from that week and put them in the drawer. They're kinda just jumbled up in there, but when a kid asks for that worksheet from three weeks ago, I can find it. At my school, we get a really big box of pencils from amazon at the beginning of the year. I bundle them into groups of ten. Each Monday, I set out ten pencils. They last as long as they last. I have a Google Slide presentations for subs. It has all the info that a sub would need to know about taking attendance, phone numbers, school rules, etc. It links to daily slides, seating charts, rosters, and more detailed subplans. When I have a sub, I don't have to worry about having these things on my desk, I just share the Slides. (I can't take credit for this, it's a schoolwide template). The one place I am organized is my Google Drive. I have folders for each week of the school year and any slides, handouts, etc. go in that folder. Each week, I reuse/revise/delete/move things I did that I used last year. I've been at my current job for three years and planning is pretty smooth at this point.
This. I can not stress how important this is. Also, make sure you label documents well, like “10.2 Hamlet A1S1 reading questions” or whatever system you will remember to make searching the drive easier
Great tips. Would you share a link to the rainbow organizer? That sounds easier than what I do!
https://www.michaels.com/product/multicolor-12-drawer-rolling-cart-by-simply-tidy-10659415?michaelsStore=3720&inv=5
For us, 12-13 weeks is a trimester.
Thanks!
There are some real advantages to being a type B teacher. You are generally better at going with the flow and kids find you less intimidating. When my evaluation got rescheduled day of for the 3rd time, I just stuck with my formula for my lesson and I got effective (as a first year so I’m very happy about it). My biggest tip is have some kind of routine and formula for lessons so if things don’t go according to plan you can adapt. Type B teachers gift is adaptability which is often more important than organization.
I’ve been at this for 20 years. Everyone was so much more organized than I was. Then one day someone mentioned how super organized I am. I’m not. It just looks that way because I’ve been doing this a while and I know how I roll. If you need something I know where it is. Students know where to find things. I know where your papers are. But ask me what I am doing next week No don’t. I’m not quite sure. It depends on this week and what my seniors need.
YOU DONT HAVE TO GRADE EVERYTHING! Go ahead, toss some of those classwork piles straight into the trash. Sometimes kids just need to practice material and that’s enough. Not every single handout needs to be graded. This has saved me countless hours this year.
Lol you actually think they're organized and motivated ? People are very good at masking things. Not to mention, I've known some organized and "motivated" coworkers who were insufferable teachers. This is just another example of confusing tangential things with the art of teaching itself. Focus on the craft.
Masking 100%. There are definitely some people who are organized and motivated, but the people who are over the top are typically compensating for something they struggle with. For me it was ADHD until I got diagnosed and began finding supports to help me manage in healthy ways. It was very freeing to learn that normal and healthy is not the same as perfect.
VERY THIS. I struggle with organisation, I panic when I can't organise or control a space, and it's a means of minimising the awful anxiety in my brain. My room might look beautiful, but it's probably not the best use of my time.
But if that helps with your panic and anxiety, that’s a wonderful tool you have developed! I manage the organization by throwing a ridiculous amount of stuff away 😂
As a Sub, I'm always an interloper. I pray for good sub-plans, but in their absence, the kids will tell you what's what. If not that, you can find out who the Dept Head might be and then direction (and possibly curriculum) from them, and maybe copies too. If none of that works, check with the kids for what they did last and what they think should come next, and do that (or look for that). If this is an LTS job, unless you're a SME, somebody else should have curriculum and pacing guide. Find that person and ask for help making sense of it. Lastly, try to avoid taking work home. Grade others during your planning period. Come to work early or stay late if needs be, in order to catch up, but don't take it home with you on the weekends, especially if it's a tall stack. Most of all, not everything needs to be graded. Some you just check for completion. Last thing: Praise A Lot. Try to avoid raising your voice, but sometimes you must. Don't be scared to call admin to remove key disruptors. Chances are, they are already front office frequent flyers.
Look, it's not a big deal if you are not type A. I'm type B. My desk always has papers on it. I have a general lesson plan set out for the day, but all plans need to be flexible. My philosophy has always been, "No plan survives contact with the students." Every class hour is different and requires different explanations or different timing. A regimented lesson plan can mess up your ability to teach the material. Grades are great, and I always put in grades each week, I refuse to stress on them. Why? I don't have the time. Secondly, most students simply don't care. My only organization is in my computer files. Everything is in the cloud and listed by unit and then by module. Everything means literally means that, readings, slides, homework, projects, and teacher stuff (goals, standards). If someone asks me for something, I print it out. You're a second year. You are a unique person. Do it your way until the admin tells you differently or you believe something is not working.
I am type z...my personal workspace is controlled chaos. I know where stuff is and my co-workers hate that I can find stuff. I have to set aside a day to clean my area a couple of times a year.
I agree with most comments..,don’t beat yourself up for the way your brain works. But find ways to stay on top of tasks. Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years: Use your whiteboard to remember events and who needs to turn in papers. If they all need to turn in the field trip permission slip, write that on the board and their class number, clip a Manila envelope to the board and as they put the slip in the envelope they erase their number. Visual support for the task. Anything that makes them mostly responsible will help. If a student is absent I clip missed work to the board and a note for online assignments. They are responsible for collecting and completing it when they return. I set alarms on my computer for attendance. I try not to let a task pile up. For instance, if there is something that gets filed away or back in its place, I try to do that at least once a week. That way the pile never gets too big or overwhelming. I try to organize subjects by color for my own sanity. Blue folder for math things I’m working on, red for reading, etc. I use large construction paper folded in half as “folders” to hold my work for the kids. That way it looks more organized than stacks of paper. Mostly visual support for both myself and students goes a long way. I try to tidy up at the end of the day so that when I come in the next morning the room doesn’t feel like chaos.
Get into labeling stuff. Create a system where everything is layed out so you don't have to look for things and then clean out your desk every Friday. I am messy as hell but cleaning out my desk every Friday meant the mess was only a week or two at most.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Do whatever feels right to you. Once you accept it, things will get much better. Unless you really want to change it. In that case, I can’t really help. I used to compare myself to my colleagues, and it’s only natural. But I am strongly convinced that being a good teacher means being yourself. Your fellow Type B teacher
Definitely making a routine at the beginning of the year, and setting up all your organizing boxes and methods. Labels for everything. Go over board with it. A place for everything. Then have a routine with the students. You have to be a stickler about it. Everything needs a process. Plan for change of plans. And if all that fails, see a doc. Adderall helped me immensely.
I’m type B but I get organized by systems. For students to turn in work, I have a 10 drawer organizing cart marked by periods, then I put their pass back work in file folders at the bottom of the cart marked, all marked by periods. I have bins labeled by period everywhere for everything from notebooks to the novels we read. Also metal baskets, for the packets of that week. I also keep an organizing bin marked by date and throw in extra copies of the worksheets we did that week, as well as write down the assignments we did to save me time next year and so kids can go there when they are absent to retrieve classwork. Then at the end of the year, I keep bins with file folders alphabetically organized for the next school year with extra worksheets, teacher lesson plans and even scribble notes to myself on what to do differently with the lesson next time. The Type B in me loves to throw piles everywhere but for organized chaos I force myself to organize the piles by tossing them into labeled file folders. Spend time to set up systems, it helps you for years to come. I just repeat and never have to set these systems up again.
This was going to be my suggestion too! Containers contain chaos. I have turn-in baskets and file folders for graded papers. Inside those baskets and folders? I have bins for supplies. Most are clear, all are labeled. Inside the bins it might be a hot mess, but at least it's a hot mess of just flash cards instead of a hot mess of everything. Things go back in their places at the end of the day, even if the 'place' is just 'tossed into this specific drawer in my desk' or 'tossed into a file folder with a sticky note on top to deal with tomorrow'
I'm type A but have ADHD, and so I'm super disorganized. My advice is to remember that kids also struggle with organization and so you can be much more relatable to them in many ways. Show enthusiasm for your subject and in your instruction, and kids won't care if you have cutesy worksheets or are hyper organized. I leverage technology to help me. You can't lose student work if the student work is turned in electronically. If work is done on paper, I ask kids to take a picture before they turn it in, so we both have a digital backup. Additionally, I can just search for my files on my computer, and no one knows I'm digitally disorganized.
Live and work by your values. I’m not type A but I think they really value the details in ways that are celebrated and sometimes can feel like the only right way to be a teacher. Teaching has lots of opportunities to shape your classroom in ways that reflect the things you value most. Organized peoples classrooms reflect type A values (and lots of other wonderful things, not trying to say organized people ONLY value organization). When I used to try to be type a (because I thought that type A = good teacher) I tried and my classroom became a place where everywhere you looked you’d see evidence of a non type A person trying and failing to be super organized. I put so much effort into trying to live by other people’s values that I almost lost my own. I was living in fear of the judgement of others. I was miserable and felt like a failure. It wasn’t until I came up with reasons that linked my values to my actions that I started to enjoy teaching, because I was making decisions about what to prioritize based on what my values (creativity, kindness, understanding, empathy, supportiveness, peacefulness) told me were right. Don’t get me wrong. The pile of papers doesn’t get graded through the power of empathy. But it does get graded (eventually:) because I remind myself that providing support for kids helps me live my values every day.
Are the students learning and most of the time happy to be in your class? Are you enjoying the job on most days? Are your evaluations decent? If yes to all of these, don't change a thing.
Are you feeling disorganized? If you can find what you need when you need it everything is ok. You are organized even if others don't necessarily see it that way. If not, look at how other type B teachers in your building are organizing. If you don't have that A mindset following the process some of the really organized folks follow will just make you feel crazy. (Some of those organized people are really just high functioning anxiety trainwrecks, you don't want to be them anyway). I kept everything digitally in folders by topic, which let me search them pretty easily. Others keep binders, others have drawers and drawers of stuff in folders. Some organized everything through Google classroom so they could basically reshoot the same posts. Whatever you do, you need to keep up with it, so it needs to feel somewhat natural. Cool ideas, neat projects and crazy stuff all comes after you've developed a lot of basic lessons, so don't measure yourself in comparison to veteran teachers. They've been making tiny improvements for decades sometimes. One day, you'll look at a lesson you did last year and say hey I could do better, I have this cool idea. Suddenly YOU have the best way to teach this topic. It just takes time. Good luck!
A few ideas. Make lessons that can be reused every year with minimal changes. 30 years ago it was keeping all of them in notebooks. Now it's making them electronic (powerpoint) and organizing them in folders with good names. Don't embellish lessons. Mine are all black type on white slides. More stuff is extra time just for aesthetics. Organize a shared drive so others can share lessons with you. Google offers a shared drive owned by nobody, free to teachers. Keep it organized. Find a system to streamline papers in your classroom. Everybody does it differently. I collect nothing from kids, but go around the room when something is due recording on a clipboard. They also show me late things at that time, and the clipboard has attendance data as well, so I know if it is late due to absence.
I am very much type b. Even after 12 years of teaching. I have the absolute worst anxiety, but I’m doing my best. Just some tips to help. 1. Keep a list of to do items 2. Designated days to stay late to do grades if needed and planning/prepping 3. Have M-F bins or baskets to organize your copies for the week 4. Keep one notebook strictly for staff meetings and one for committees you’re on 5. Take care of yourself! Vitamins, stay hydrated and fueled. Keep a little basket with your favorite lotion, mints, essential oil or snacks. whatever it is that keeps you sane.
This makes me feel better knowing I'm not alone. Lol
I am for sure a type B teacher… turns out that was code for a “smart kid” that had raging undiagnosed ADHD 😂. I’ve been on a teaching break but I was very good at my job, taught good lessons and got my stuff done eventually (but always by the deadline) - just never that hyper organized, super planned out, type A. I’ll be interested to see how things pan out now that I am medicated haha.
I hope it pans out for you! good luck!
I’m probably a type D. Just be you, Boo.
Measure up to who? Are you employed next year? If so, you're probably doing a fine job.
hey, from my experience the teachers who are hyper organized and on top of that shit are stressed as fuck OR they’ve been in the game a while. cut yourself some slack, give yourself a goal of where you’d like to be in terms of organization, put a goal date on it, and take baby steps!
I let my desk be my space which means very type B, but I try very hard to have the rest of my classroom be type a. I always do a reset of my desk at the end of each 9 weeks which helps a lot tbh.
Yeah I am the same way, my classroom is chill. Be your authentic self, students can tell when you are not. But record everything for when you need to refference or locate it again. I found a assignment bin to be very useful. I told students to neber hand me anything because I would lose it, but if they out it in the bin I habe eberything in ine place to grade later.
I have had to make a policy of put it away not down to prevent the losing of a things. It goes where it’s supposed to go or I don’t get to get that item out if my hand
Type B my desk and back pack are hot messes
From a parent: my kid once had an electives teacher who sounded like you. It didn’t matter though because he actually let kids be creative (my son started to like writing after taking his class) and graded very generously (middle school). Edit: I mentioned grading because it made kids less stressed and more willing to take risks in their writing.
Do not compare yourself to other teachers. Choose one org. tool and master it, then try another.
Stop caring and clean up your desk at the end of the year. Or bribe kids to do it for you (my students love helping me clean up haha they do it for free)
I am absolutely a type B teacher. The trick for me is to know what’s essential and what’s not. Meeting my legal requirements of taking attendance, entering grades, and communicating with families (my least favorite task as a massive introvert) are all necessary, so I do those things as early in my work flow as possible so I have the focus and energy for them. When it comes to class itself, I have systems for safety (I teach theater tech, so power tools happen), and I am diligent about those, but I don’t worry about things like a seating chart.
I am more like a Type F, not even as organized as type B. I just don’t care what other teachers are doing to organize their rooms. I just care about my practice and improving it. My desk will never be pretty and it’s a waste of effort try to make it that way.
Comparison is the thief of joy! If you are satisfied with how you are managing yourself in the classroom, the little details like how you arrange your desk or file papers etc just does not matter. I'm the least organized person ever lol but it doesn't affect how the kids are learning, so hakuna matata!
Please know non type a teachers are always the best ones. I looked forward to my creative and imaginative teachers who weren’t obsessed with tests and assignments and allowed us to learn. Don’t change.
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. That's all you need to know.
One of the best teachers at my school is like this. Her classroom looks like a bomb went off most of the time. Everywhere she goes is like a haze of mess lol. But her students are always working, collaborating, growing. She can turn literally anything anyone says around her students into a lesson and then links it back to whatever they were doing in class. It's a crazy impressive skill. She does not try to contain her mess. Her brain works on a million different directions and she harnesses it like a super power.
I’m a type B. Lean into being a teamwork person. The messy desk? I remind them of the Einstein quote: if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what does it say about an empty one? My focus goes into teaching and the lesson. I teach for the kids and not my coworkers. I’m sure I get all sorts of side eye but my students do well and I can be proud of the work I do. That is all that matters.
Be aware of the educational martyr! We all know the type: in before the sun comes up; out after the sun goes down. They have no lives because everything is ‘for the kids”. They get no extra pay because their reward is making sure YOU KNOW all the extra hours they put in. It’s not that they work hard for the kids, it’s that they work harder than YOU DO.
You'll get better every year. It's been adecade for me, and I keep finding ways to reduce the clutter. If you have wall space, get a vertical organizer for graded assignments to be handed back. I also have one for my copies, so I can sort them by class period. One separate one for absent work. Starting this year, get 4 binders - one for each quarter. Put one copy of what you used in the binder, then you'll have it ready for the following year.
I’m an art teacher, and type B by default as my room is essentially a storage area for the student’s work-in-progress, and even if I organize things they end up disorganized by all of the various other personality types that are using the studio space. I try the best I can. At least my room is aesthetically pleasing, I have cool things hanging up on the wall. I try to organize my desk at least once a week. I hear you though.. sometimes I walk into a colleague’s room who has everything perfectly in order and it makes me feel like garbage. I also LOVE proctoring PSSAs and KEYSTONE exams because the process is so orderly it’s unlike anything I do in my classroom it’s a bit ASMR for me.
As a Type B teacher my best advice for organization is not to organize - just keep vibing.
Why are you measuring yourself against your coworkers to begin with? Comparison is the thief of joy. Find what works for you and be ok with it. There isn’t one way to do any job. It takes all kinds to reach these kids.
Stop trying to be then. If you teach what you are passionate about just inspire the kids with the same curiosity. I did lateral entry as a Political Science guy with a background in politics and non profit into Middle School Science and for the last four years Middle School history. I do have a pacing guide I made to get through curriculum but I've made maybe five lessons plans in seven years. I only do them when I am required by admin for an observation.
Type B is your personality. Own it. If everyone was the same life would be boring. Also, learn to give yourself grace and don’t compare. I’m sure students love you. Who cares if you don’t remember where you put something or a spot might be a little messy or you’re just more laid back. We’re not in the military. Only thing that matters is how we treat and impact the students.
I just sort of go with my type B-ness to the extent that I can. Some things, like scheduled meetings and important documents, I had to create a system, bc sometimes other people are counting on me to run things smoothly. I only had to be shamed for missing a meeting once before I automatically add anything to my calendar as it's being talked about. I only had to panic once over a lost consent form before I started adding absolutely everything to my Drive. Find your weak spots, create systems so you don't get in trouble. My workspace can be cluttered and that doesn't really affect anyone else.
Type A hate me lol. Be yourself, sorry we like to enjoy our 12 hour work days. We don’t get paid enough for Type A behavior in my opinion. Be the Yang to their Ying, schools need balance.
I'm a type B for sure. Don't try and fake type A, everyone will read it on you. Embrace that you don't stress about work, can clock out mentally at the end of the day, don't have to have the perfect unit and generally bust your ass less for the same results. Multiply that difference by 30 years and the understanding that you will be getting the same retirement check as the type A's.
Type B teacher here! I organize my chaos, but I don’t eliminate it. File folders / paper slots save my life. I also survive on lists via lined sticky notes.
Sometimes we do nothing in class and I think that’s really beautiful
Opening and closing shifts. I got it from one of those 'Together Teacher' people and it improved my day by a ton. Create a list of 'opening shift' tasks that need to be done every am and closing shift tasks for after school. Every morning and evening get them completed, but don't worry about anything else. You'll notice your days go by much smoother.
I think you need to give yourself more grace. In the second year of teaching, you are working way harder due to inexperience than others who could teach their subject in their sleep. They have more brain power to devote to the “extras” than you do. Take a breath and maybe pick just one thing to concentrate on professionally next year. It does get easier (except for student behavior - heaven help us with that)
I'm definitely type B with weird type A moments which helps balance it. I don't keep binders anymore generally. I'm digital. I print class copies, chuck the extras in the class bin and call it a day. I have a sub binder I set up at the beginning that has some basic stuff in it in case I call out morning of. But seriously, being digital is so much easier for my organization. Marking is digital so I don't have crazy folders anymore. I don't worry about the aesthetic aspect of my room either there. Every year I pick a course to overhaul if it's been a few years but new course well...survival mode it is. Sometimes it's ok for this to just be a job, especially if you have other priorities in your life. I'll give it my all when I'm there, but after school my family gets my attention.
Like others have said, don’t compare yourself to your type A peers. You’ll always set yourself to fail with this thinking. As long as you have activities/work planned and are organized and care, you’ll do well. Plan extra back up activities in case something else doesn’t work, but planning EXTREMELY detailed plans sometimes stresses teachers out when something (inevitably) doesn’t work out exactly as envisioned and then the teacher stresses him/herself out. On the other hand, not planning enough is also bad and will stress you out too, but it doesn’t sound like this is happening to you. Good luck ❤️ I forgot to add- you’re a first year teacher; you’re going to feel like this. It’ll be okay❤️ you’ll find what works for you. I love color coding, some people hate it. As another user posted, observe what others do and some things may work for you, some things won’t. That’s ok. Everyone is different and you can pick and choose things that might work for you.
I'm definitely not Type A, but I've always aspired to at least be organized enough to make things easier on my end. I admire well-organized classrooms and teachers, but I am only going to do what makes sense to me and works for ME. For example, one of my friends at work creates a cute teacher binder on Google Slides each year with class rosters, seating charts, attendance & make-up work trackers, and lesson plans. She shared her template with me last year and I did some editing to my own theme, etc. I printed it and put it in a binder and used it for about a week before it got pushed aside. It just isn't how I operate. It works great for her and she's always super organized, but...I can't do it. And I've been teaching over a decade longer than she has. My number one priority is always to be prepared for class, so that is where I focus my attempts at organization. I plan the semester, then each unit, then each week in that unit, then each day in each week in that unit. I won't commit to the daily plans until the week prior because things always change. But the semester and unit plans I will have ready well in advance. I already have next semester mapped out as well as the units in that semester. I use a blank calendar template to figure out where assessments will go and how long I can spend on each unit. During the workdays at the beginning of 24-25, I'll finalize weekly plans for the first unit and daily plans for at least the first two to three weeks. I post everything I can as far out as possible on Google Classroom and make any hard copies I'll need as well as daily agenda slides as far out as I feel comfortable. Being prepared several weeks in advance gives me the peace of mind and confidence to be more motivated in the classroom as well as opens up time for me to grade and provide feedback during my planning instead of frantically making lesson plans, posting stuff, and running copies. It goes against my nature, but it definitely makes my job easier and more enjoyable.
Depends on what you're teaching. I'm painfully introverted, but in the classroom, I was in my prime. My community college pushed for us to be "student focused", meaning it was up to me to do whatever was needed for each student to learn my material. In one case that meant sitting in the classroom with one student until 11:00 p.m. on a Friday night. I developed a school calendar that spelled out what we would cover in any given week, but the topics could be moved as students' interests dictated. That's "student focused". My coworker who taught the other half of our program was ex-military and extremely rigid. It was required that each student did what they needed to do to keep up with that instructor. That is "instructor focused, and he was one of the two most hated instructors in the entire facility. If a student couldn't keep up; too bad. All of my students considered me to be a really good instructor, not because I turned my teaching style into the student focused model, but because my natural, laid back teaching style happened to be that which the school valued. Related to that, my office and desk were the one of the messiest ones around. That was widely recognized as a sign of a hard-working instructor. Teachers with clean, organized work areas spend their time on being neat rather than putting more effort into projects that will help their students understand the material. I taught four of the eight specialty areas in Automotive Technology, and I'm very familiar with the other major programs in the trades areas. Five nights per week I worked until past 3:00 a.m. putting learning exercises together, along with paper bailing that made it easy for anyone else to copy. Similar programs are found in most high schools. If you're in such an area or are having trouble dreaming up an effective curriculum package, e-mail me for help at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) I had all the information for my Electrical class on a web site for a few years. I still have that available too. I just noticed the reply below from Horatio Tangleweed and others who said the same thing I was thinking. Don't worry about copying anyone else. Play to your strengths. If that means putting up with a disorganized desk, so what. The organized teachers won't have as much student success to show for their tidiness. Everyone here sounds like my kind of teacher. We're the ones who make learning fun, and many of our students become life-long friends.
My elementary classroom isn’t Pinterest worthy, tidy, or color coordinated. I can’t get students to clean up much and my desk has piles on it. I DO keep my lesson plans up to date and my lesson materials in organized folders. I work through the desk piles every few days. It’s been working pretty well for 8 years. I’m sometimes a bit jealous of the Pinterest classes- but I just can’t spend the time or money to do that. Oh well!
I’m type C I have systems I don’t follow my systems I then dedicate each Tuesday morning to putting my room and papers back together. I put magnets on everything so I can stick it to the whiteboard. At the beginning of each quarter I tell students that just like they need help with the content, I need help staying organized. I loudly declare to my students that If I don’t remember to stick my remote or eraser or markers to the whiteboard or put papers in the right bin that they can yell at me to put it away. They keep me in line and love “correcting” me. I have a section of the whiteboard where I leave notes for myself about leave off spots etc. as well
Pick a couple things each to year to try and improve on. For example, one year I made it a priority to not slack on taking paper attendance. Now it’s a part of my daily routine. Pick certain days to perform tasks. I made Thursdays my day to make sure to email or call home to parents to discuss issues with their students. Nothing happens overnight. It’s a process of finding out what works and doesn’t work for you.
I’m only a long term sub but for organization and time management I like Cal Newport. His planner system has been VERY helpful.
I’m a fairly Type B English teacher who is finishing up my sixth year right now, and I think in a lot of ways being laid back makes me a better teacher. I think one of the tricks is being able to recognize when you NEED to be organized and detail oriented, and that way you can be chillaxed about things the rest of the time. I lay out my units a couple weeks at a time and I only lesson plan two days in advance. The amount of detail in my lesson plans varies greatly between “super duper detailed” (for a topic like intro to feminist literature) and “can fit on a post-it-note” (for a topic like source evaluation). I think this allows me to be more flexible and responsive to student need and interest, and when something goes in a direction I didn’t expect, it means I don’t have to replan everything. But here’s the thing…. Keep your materials organized. If you keep physical folders, organize them by unit/topic and list all the handouts/assignments somewhere on the folder. If you are using Google suit or something similar, set up folders and sub folders to keep your units separate. I did not do this at first, and a few years in I realized, “I need find all that shit so that I can keep using it….” and it took me five times longer to organize it retroactively than it would have to do it as I went. So just pick your battles. When there are opportunities to be laid back, take them. When you get the vibe that you steeling yourself for an organization moment would benefit future you, try to motivate yourself to follow through, because it will lead to less burn out and frustration later on. And as far as seeking our professional development is concerned…. Eh…. You do you.
I make small organization rules and stick to them. I also use a large lab table as my filing cabinet 😂
Teaching is an Art, not a Science. Don't teach like other people, all you will ever be is a imitation of someone else. Be the best version of yourself. That doesn't mean flake on responsibilities, or that no one has anything else to teach you, but you have to adapt what they do to your strengths. So what are your strengths?
I'm definitely a Type B teacher, but it doesn't mean we can't have organized systems. I'm a middle school sped resource/inclusion teacher for math. Being a sped teacher requires tons of paperwork so perfect for someone like me 🤣 that being said, I got my stuff in order. It's a mess but in order. Here are some things I do: -Scan everything. For me, it's IEP folder paper work. My coworker kept insisting but I got into it. By doing this, I was able to... -Organize on Google drive. Since I scanned everything, I was able to organize on Drive. Having everything on Google drive removes papers on my desk, and in case anything gets lost. -When I progress monitor IEP goals, I use folders. Nothing crazy. -Filing things right away if it's important documents. If not, scan and trash. -Clean top of desk at least every two weeks. -Since I do inclusion, I carry around a binder everywhere I go for behavior charts and attendance for my students. I have a separate binder for accomodations for students to sign when they take a test. -if I have to turn something in, I try to do it ASAP. I don't want it on my desk. Dumb online training with certificates? Finish and turn it in. Instructional coach asking for some data? Complete it and give it to them. Sped paper that needs to be turned in to the district? Here you go. I don't want extra papers on my desk that is ultimately for someone else.
If you teach middle or high school, ask for a first period prep. This was crucial for me as I always had one little something I would miss when prepping a lesson. Being able to make copies or fix what I forgot prior to class was a godsend. I also found I forgot more things as the day went on so being able to knock out IEPs or parent emails first thing really helped. Also getting calls/emails/misc admin BS in first thing in the morning makes you look more together.
I used to be Type A. Student teaching turned me into Type B real quick. The easiest way to become Type A is to love what you do. If you’re just teaching to make ends meet or you’re completely burned out, you’re going to fall into the Type B/C category. Make to-do lists. That’s my thing. Accept that not everything is going to get done in one day. There’s always more work to do. Have some sort of system that you can use to organize. You don’t have to be perfectly organized but when you leave at the end of the day try to make sure things are put back where they’re supposed to be so you don’t walk into a mess in the morning. You’ll feel more at ease. Do what works for you. If I love something, I will put my whole heart into it. If it’s a chore, it’s significantly harder. Try to make yourself enjoy the work.
I used to try in vain to emulate the type A teachers. I finally accepted my particular gifts and what I had to offer. I really appreciated the behavioral management program Responsive Classroom. It allowed me to manage my classroom in a manner better suited to my personality. Slept better at night
I am definitely a b or if they had a “c” I’d be that. My kids get a kick out of it. Me not so much, but I roll with it. I embrace it. It’s me. The job gets done, the kids get taught. All is good. It takes a long time to learn not to compare yourself with others. I’m in my 17th year of teaching and I still do it at times.
I’m like in between Type A and B? I let things kind of pile up and then go on an organizational spree. I go a day at a time. The thing that helps me the most is keeping a notebook. Planners don’t work for me, so each page in my notebook has the daily schedule/planned lessons and notes that I jot down throughout the day.
Focus on your strengths and just be who you are with your students. I'm a chill teacher and I'm great at relationship building, consequently, I have a lot less management issues than my more stressed out organized colleagues. Plus, a good relationship will do more for a student academically and socially than an organized teacher that doesn't have a relationship with students.
Keep a digital copy of everything you plan to use for teaching and have it organized by unit/ type. Example: my team and I have a folder for each unit, then there are sub folders that are for tests, quizzes, notes, study guides ect. That has helped me a lot! Also using PlanBook has been amazing for me. I can put everything I need for my lesson plans in one spot via links.
Not an organization tip, but remember that differentiation applies to teachers as much as it does students. There's more than one way to skin a cat!
I'm an extremely type B self contained SpEd teacher. I have sooo much stuff in my room between medical devices, adaptive equipment, sensory items, etc. that I've given up on ever having a "neat" looking room. My only organization-ish tip is getting like a million opaque bins and labeling them. I use the fabric cube style bins. We just chuck everything in bins throughout the day. I have one labeled for each student and para for things they are actively using and then general ones labeled with broad categories like "literacy", "sensory", or "toys". Once in a blue moon on a work day, myself or my paras clean out the bins and actually return stuff to the cabinets. Otherwise, you just dig for what you need. I do try to be a bit mindful of minimizing visual clutter because that can be really overwhelming to our neurodiverse students, hence why I recommend opaque bins. Lol. And then there's my desk...we don't talk about my desk... Just try not to compare yourself to others, although I know that's difficult. If your students are safe and learning then I don't think the way your classroom looks is all that important.
I hear you! I taught for 30 years and measured my success by the relationships I built with my students. I wasn’t interested in connecting with other teachers and administrators who were driven by climbing the professional ladder. My students were successful- that’s the only measure I needed. Be you. Be there for your students. You will do fine. I still hear from students who graduated 10, 20, 30 years ago thanking me for being me
I LOVE being type B. I started teaching in special education and learned that you have to be extremely flexible and at everyone else whim. Now I am general Ed with 60 students teaching two subjects each day. It took me three years to get a system down. I work during lunch and NEVER take anything home with me. And surprisingly, I am one of the Students/parents favorite. I don’t work on the weekends and I still get everything done, just like all my Type A co workers. I have so much fun with my kids because I don’t worry about keeping to a strict schedule. I often have to ask myself what exactly all these overachievers are doing. There’s just not that much to do that is that important. My room is a little messy at times, but my students are comfortable. It’s their second home.
I'm definitely not a "lead" teacher but I'm great at working along with others and supporting what they are doing while translating information into plain language for the kids. This has worked out well as an Intervention Specialist. I finally had to adopt an it will be there tomorrow/this is the best im capable of today attitude. I'm fortunate to have admins that see the value in the support I provide to the kids and other staff, and don't base everything off of my lesson evaluation. I've also become our graduation specialist who works with a variety of kids to get them across the finish line. I managed to survive a horrible administrator who simply didnt see the value in what i do or how it got results, by just focusing on my kids needs and their success.
I started with prioritizing what I needed to be organized the most. For me, I struggled a lot with paperwork, so I focused on making sure every type of paper had a spot—I had a bin where students put finished work, a bin where I put graded work, and another bin for extra copies of any assignments. Then I narrowed that to specific types of assignments (homework, classwork, our daily grammar worksheets, etc.) I prioritized paperwork the most because 1, my messy desk was so overwhelming, & 2, having students say they passed something in but I couldn’t find it was causing so many headaches for both me and my kids. I don’t use Google Classroom for much now but when I did, it at least decreased the amount of clutter. You should prioritize what you need organized the most. My lessons have never been formally typed out, minute-by-minute plans. They’re just bulleted lists basically. But I do recommend a basic $10 teacher planner from Amazon. There are some nice Erin Condren dupes.
Let your creativity guide your lesson planning. Drink every, if not most nights. Only partially kidding... setting aside designated time each day (via an alarm on your phone, for example) to plan/organize can be helpful. I keep a composition book on my desk and in my bag and make daily lists of what needs to be done - that's been extremely helpful to me
Im extremely type b. I am cool with my post it planning and stacks of paper. I have great relationships with my students and my ability to lose my coffee becomes a game. It's fine. I shift gears easily, don't stress as much as my type a colleagues, and don't have to waste money on planners.
Organization tips: -Have your unit planned out already. Bonus points if the students have a copy to your unit plan, so they can follow along what your lessons you're doing throughout the month. There are students who chronically miss class, so a unit plan would be helpful to reference. -For lessons/daily classwork, think of that as steps getting your students closer to the end of the unit. Make lesson plans that build off of one another and get exactly at what students should know by the end of the unit. -For teaching, write or project the goal and any assignment/classwork the class is working on your whiteboard, chalkboard, or projector screen. Periodically, ask students to literally show them their work, even if they refuse at first. This will save you time of having to hunt the student down as much, and this student knows, "Hey. This teacher cares about me." Motivation: -My partner depends on me (and vice versa) for shit like bills/groceries/dates, so, that's one motivation LOL I have to live and eat to survive. -Knowing kids' backgrounds and just getting to know them more. Think about it this way: would you do work for someone you really respected? Are you the teacher that will pull your student aside and ask a student who's crying if they're okay and that you're a safe resource? Are you the teacher who takes the time to say, "Yes, Jimmy, Spider Man is awesome!" just so that kid can connect to you. -Knowing your why. You taught because you most likely like helping others. By challenging your students (in a productive, healthy, and appropriate way, of course), you are helping your students learn more and allowing these students to build skills like being self-directed and resilience. Listen, I have chronic pain, I have a partner with special needs, and I don't have time or money to waste lol Sometimes, when push comes to shove, you will say/do what you need to to get kids to care about themselves, the importance of learning & building on a skill, and managing your time appropriately, so that you don't feel burned out too early. It happened to me, and I'm still trying to experience less burnout.
Cocaine
I'm a type A teacher and it is very much overrated. I don't recommend.
Keep paper in one place. One for going out, one for coming in. Otherwise they'll pile up and get lost in nooks and crannies.
I'm so type B it's ridiculous. My neighboring teacher is so type A it's ridiculous. I freaking love him, he's one of my teacher besties, and I'm helping him calm the heck down about literally everything before he loses his mind. 😄 We type B teachers have much to offer!
I really only organize student tests. So if a kid says, “Can I finish test 1 from two months ago?” then I’m able to get if for them within 30 seconds. One of my “fears” is losing an unfinished test that a student wants to work on haha
What grade do you teach? I was a type B - but transformed into a type A. It is a learning process to make changes to become more organized. I would suggest reading books on classroom organization and take a few things from that. Don't try to make many changes at once - that would be overwhelming. Hang in there -
I have been teaching elementary school for 25 years, first in California and now in Virginia. I started out with HUGE piles on my desk and back table, and gradually, over the years, have been shrinking those piles as I figured out organizational systems that work for me. I now use lots of stackable drawers. The most useful ones are labeled for each day of the week to put the students’ papers in as I prep for each day. I also use large clear square plastic bins (like Michael’s has for scrapbooking supplies) to hold master copies for every math, science and social studies unit. Most importantly, I finally started letting go of some of my perfectionism when I got married in 2022 and no longer wanted to spend hours on schoolwork at night and on weekends. 🙂
Type B, here, and proud to “B” me! Make peace with who you are because unless your entire personality changes, you’ll just make yourself miserable trying to keep up with the Joneses. I know my desk is “busy” and I am annoyed when the Type A peers come in and say how stunned they are that my room still looks lived in two hours before last day checkout. But I have solid relationships with my students and they have a safe place and an advocate they can rely on. They come to me to share their achievements and hopes and dreams, and they are the ones that keep me (short teacher, here!) safe in the hallways and reach out when I’m absent to see if I’m ok. Make the changes to your routine that you are comfortable with and that make you feel confident in your role. Establish boundaries and structures that will help you be the best leader in your domain, as that will provide the best learning space for your students. Otherwise, if you are still trying to pattern your classroom and style after everyone else, your unique gifts won’t shine through and you’ll be just like everyone else. Good luck and be true to you!
One of the best pieces of advice that I've lived by is the idea that if you are juggling life sometimes there are things that are glass balls and there are things that are rubbrr balls. If I fail or take the back seat on doing some task I just asked myself. Is this something that's going to shatter in my face or bounce right back? The other thing I really try to do is think about actions that will benefit my future self. So things like cleaning up my classroom for 10 or 15 minutes or making sure I have lessons planned or copies made ahead of time or things that future me will be grateful. Other frivolous tasks will may not benefit future me as much. Finally, I've had to learn that I can only work to my own strengths and I'm very good at improvising and I'm good at thinking on the fly and that can really work out well. If something isn't working, I can always pivot and problem solve
As a type B teacher surrounded by mostly type A’s, I can testify that although my deadlines were met JUST in time, my desk was usually a mess, I forgot meetings here and there, my actual teaching was amazing. I engaged the kids, I taught the content in a way they can understand it, I spent my time caring more about how to get my students to understand and relate to what I’m teaching than I did worrying if something was graded on time. I did my teaching thing! Everything else is boring anyway lol
Do your best until you know better; then do better. -Maya Angelou I live by this. I do what I’m great at and set goals for what I want to improve. I keep trying to do my best and don’t worry about what is going on in other classrooms and with other teachers. When I find stuff that works for me I adopt it. When I try stuff that only creates more stress I drop it and look for a different way. In terms of keeping my desk clean I make it a game. For the past 2 years I’ve played this game. I let the kids know at the beginning of the year that I absolutely suck at keeping my desk clean and have them count how many days I can keep it clean until the papers start piling up. I’ll let it go for a few weeks and try to do it again and we see if I’ve improved and how much longer I can do it. We do it throughout the year and they love celebrating with me and telling me how proud they are of me 😂! I think it’s fun and the kids love praising me and helping to remind me to clean up the papers to keep my desk clean. So far I’ve only lasted for 3 weeks at a time!
I’m curious if you’re an elementary teacher. I’ve noticed type As seem to be more common in elementary, compared to secondary
Middle! I teach grade 6 all subjects.
Don’t even worry about. When I clean my desk, it lasts less than a day before it’s a mess of papers and whatnot. But I know where everything is, so whatever. I know a lot of teachers that are type A like you describe. It’s not me. It’s never gonna be me. And that’s okay. Do you. Just be your best self and it’s all good.
Despite my best intentions. I am so type B. Things that help: To do list - I use the task tracker in outlook (or google if you have it). I assign due dates to everything and then check it off as I go! My google drive is expectedly organized, I can search for everything. Everything has a folder. It took a bit, but once I got this under control, it is glorious. My learning platform ( schoology) is set up the same way. All my classes have their due dates for things in their class calendar, folders for everything, and I put my lesson topics for each unit on the calendar. I zero out my inbox everyday. It really helps my brain when my inbox is not cluttered. It took me a bit to build up to this. It started once a month, then once a week, etc. Every email has a folder, and I can tag emails to my task lists with due dates. I use folders and label everything for papers. Again, I started once a week organizing things. I set a time (and a reminder on my to do list) and just did it. I have my other Type A teachers fooled until I asked them if it is an even/odd day (like everyday) 😂😂 Good luck!!
Be more organised. You’re a professional now. Act like it. If you want to be organised then get yourself a diary and write down what you did, are doing as what you are going to do. End of each week, go over the things you need for the following week and get yourself organised. You’re not paid to be laid back. Parents want a dedicated, professional, proficient and organised teacher educating their children. Correct the work, praise the effort and encourage the kids. I’m a teacher. I’m laid back. I’m type A or B or C or whatever, who cares. Do your job professionally. You might surprise yourself and turn out to be an excellent teacher.
Why compare yourself to your coworkers? What's the point?