Educators are feeling the pressure of the pending conclusion of the year. All the signs are reminding them – assessing, reporting, 2024 class lists, staffing, enrolments, to name a few. And what gets no priority is to take time to reflect on the year, so we don’t repeat the pressure again. The school’s schedule is focused on what is happening now and what crisis can be averted or solved. There is no time or energy to stop and reflect to work smarter – “to sharpen the saw” as Dr Steven Covey said. This non environmentally friendly metaphor still holds true to today. Rather than continuing to saw down the tree with a blunt blade which takes more energy and more time, you sacrifice some sawing time to sharpen the blade so you can cut more trees with the same energy in the same amount of time. I believe a strategic objective for 2024 is to reduce the busyness in schools. But you can’t do this unless we reflect as teams and a whole school. What would a process of auditing educator’s actions against the progress of student learning look like? Could schools downgrade the chaos from complicated to simple? I believe you can with a few reflective questions.
Has every meeting been relevant and productive?
Is every commercial program impacting at least an 80% of positive student progress?
Are all committees decreasing educator workload?
Are there real boundaries to educator’s time?
These are just a few proactive questions to reflect on while sharpening your saw. If you are serious about reducing workload and improving educators’ wellbeing, then allocate equal time like you do to implement a new numeracy program. You will get a bigger bang for your buck in the former than the latter.
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