​I never realized how much time I spent on my teaching job until I didn’t have the time to spend anymore.  In December of 2012 my son was born and after a short maternity leave, I was thrown back into the world of teaching.  My job was the same, but my life was completely different.  I had to learn how to better manage my time, and I had to do it fast.
 
We may not all have kids, but we all have people in our lives that we want to spend time with, personal interests that we want to attend to, and places we want to see.  The more effectively we can get all that other stuff done, the more time we can save to add to our personal time bank accounts.  So, here are 10 things that I learned during my crash course in teacher time management:

• Prioritize – it will never all get done.  Look at your tasks and ask yourself if the classroom will fall apart if it doesn’t get done.  If the answer is no, either don’t do it or push it to the end of the list.  It is okay to throw away a stack of homework papers or an activity they did in class.  Trust me, they won’t notice; I’ve been doing it for years.
• Use a Planner – if you haven’t already developed this habit, you need to.  Every time I check my e-mail I do it with my planner sitting right next to me.  Anything and everything important goes into it and I always know where it is.  I open it every morning and I take it with me every night.  My planner has events, times, phone numbers, reminders, alternate schedules, meeting notes, makeshift lesson plans, and brainstorming.   If I have a question, my planner has the answer.

If you are looking for a new planner, here are a couple to check out!  La Profesora Frida made this great Editable Teacher Planner and I made this Digital World Language Teacher Planner to help teachers manage their classrooms and plan proficiency-based lessons.

• Take Breaks – teachers need brain breaks too.  If you are embarking on one of those marathon-grading sessions, you can take breaks after you finish grading a class or two worth of papers.  I try not to work for more than an hour without getting up for at least 5 minutes.  Then, it’s back to work I go.
  
• Just Say No – Only someone who works in a school could ever understand the number of requests there are for your money and your time when you are a teacher.  There are clubs to be run, dances to be chaperoned, detentions to be supervised, and extra help to be given.  I agree to probably about 1 in 5 things that I am asked to volunteer for.  I don’t feel bad saying no because I say yes too – I just say no more often.
  
• No Distractions – Everyone has different things that distract him or her, so this one takes a little self-reflection.  If you like listening to music while you work, maybe that is not a distraction for you.  Unfortunately for me, much of my work involves being on the computer, which means there is a high danger of my falling into the “Pinterest Hole” – you know, when you click on one thing and it makes you think of another thing and then you need to see this thing and that thing and…yeah, just stay away from those situations you know will get YOU off track.
  
• Small Chunks – Setting small, easily reachable goals feels way better than facing a stack of papers that seems insurmountable at 10:00 on a Sunday night.  Try to complete one small task every other night.  Set a limit to the time you want to spend and complete a task that can be done in that time.  If you do this 2-3 nights a week, you will find that you suddenly have most of your weekend back.
  
• Throw it Out – Teachers are some of the biggest hoarders I know.  It must come from the fact that we are always begging for supplies to make our classes run more smoothly.  When we get them, we don’t let go easily.  However, “stuff” takes time to manage.  If you decrease the amount of “stuff”, you decrease the amount of time it takes to deal with it.  Doing your job effectively really doesn’t take as much “stuff” as you think.  For the past two years, I have taught out of a backpack.  Think about your essential things – your backpack things – and get rid of some of the things that don’t make the cut.
  
• Let Go of Perfection – This is the toughest one for me.  A lot of teachers are perfectionists, but don’t feed the monster.  “Perfect” takes a lot more time than “really good” takes.  The only person who would notice how perfect you are is you anyway (and you already know you’re perfect).
  
• Delegate – See if you can get a student aid or two to handle the monotonous tasks of checking off homework, sorting papers, filing, etc.  When I don’t have time to create something for my class, I delegate to the fantastic teachers on TeachersPayTeachers.  Why would I spend an hour creating something that I could buy for a couple of dollars?  My time is worth more to me than that.
  
• Group Tasks – You will work much faster if you group common tasks together.  The less time you spend jumping around from task to task, the more your brain settles in to what you are doing and the more efficient you become.  Grading the last 10 papers in a set is much easier than grading the first 10.  Planning for the end of the week is much easier than planning for the beginning.  This is because your brain likes to stick with the same task and gets better at it as you go along. 

 
 
The Back to School displays are already being set up at my local Target, which means that the new year will soon be upon us.  I hope that at least a couple of these tips got your wheels turning.  Ultimately, I hope will give you more time to spend with the people that you love, doing the things that you love.           

Many of us Spanish teachers struggle with how to truly teach the cultural content involved in our courses when it comes to teaching about holidays and traditions that involve religion.  While this may be a non-issue for those of teaching in a Catholic school, teachers who teach in public schools or schools dedicated to other religious faiths may have concerns.  I wanted to give a few tips to those teachers as to how you can handle this delicate issue.

First of all, let me start by saying that I do think that in order for our students to truly understand Hispanic culture, religion needs to be a piece of the puzzle.  So many practices and perspectives of the culture are directly influenced by the beliefs of not only Catholicism, but of the indigenous cultures that preceded the arrival of the Spanish to the New World.  To me, there is a clear distinction between teaching ABOUT something and teaching students to actually DO or BE something.  Just as History teachers who teach about the Holocaust and the beliefs of Hitler are not encouraging students to practice Nazism, we are not trying to convert students to Catholicism just because we discuss the beliefs that they hold.

​It is definitely possible to teach about religion in a way that enhances student understanding and perspective and does not get you (the teacher) in trouble.  In 15 years of teaching in public schools, I have taught elements of religion as culture each year.  I have never received a complaint from a student, parent, or administrator.  Hopefully these tips will help you to teach the way you know you should without having to fear doing that.

Tip #1 - Give a Disclaimer - It is not a bad idea to tell students prior to the lesson that there will be certain religious elements mentioned.  Tell them that these things are only being mentioned to help them understand the perspective of the Hispanic people and the reasons behind what they do.  Make it clear that the lesson is in no way meant to devalue other religions or beliefs that people in the room may hold.

Tip #2 - Offer Students an Opportunity to Express their Concern - Tell your students that if they think the fact that religion will be discussed will make them uncomfortable or would be a concern for them or their families to please come and talk to you.  This will allow you to find out ahead of time who may find a problem with your lesson and contact parents to discuss it directly prior to the lesson.

Tip #3 - Be Careful with Your Pronouns - Remove your personal religious beliefs from the conversation, whether they are similar or different than the ones you are explaining.  It is important to dissociate yourself from the religion.  Do not make statements that start with "I" or "We" as these will give students the impression that you are speaking about your own beliefs rather than that of the Hispanic people.  Instead, begin statements with phrases like "According to the Catholic religion..." or "Many Hispanics believe...".

Tip #4 - Preview Materials - If you will be showing a video on a holiday, a song, or even a lesson.  Stay true to your word and choose materials that only share religious information with the direct goal of helping students understand the perspectives of Hispanic culture. Materials that share religious opinions that do not directly relate to the matter at hand should probably be avoided.

If you are looking for some holiday materials that address religion in a way that would be suitable for a public school environment, here are a variety of lessons that you can look through.