The Plate of Time

Who is adding to your workload?  Was your plate predetermine/delivered? Self determined/self served? Thrust upon you/second or third helpings?

Time is important to everyone. How we use it and manage it can help in determining your success or the task’s success and the success of those around you.

It is said if you want something done give it to a busy person.

Students, parents, teachers, principals, administrators, superintendents, staff and trustees all only have 24 hours in the day.

Students have home time, school time, extracurricular activities and maybe self time. At anytime an imbalance may occur on how the student uses their time. Homework or a school project may be given.  Playoffs or a recital may be scheduled. A change in home life and/or responsibilities may happen. Or the child may just want some my time. Who decides how this time is managed? Who is their responsibility to and to what? The debate about homework continues. The over burden child continues. Ever changing home life continues.

Parents work (if they can find a job). They are the first teachers in a child’s life. They organize home life. They are the extracurricular manager. They may also have their own extracurricular life, plus a self life. They are split between their life and their child’s life. When changes occur how do they affect the parent’s and/or child’s life? Does time allow for involvement in school life?

You can say that teachers have a least three lives. The classroom/school’s, their students’, their own and their family’s. When more is added to the teacher’s plate, how does that affect the balance? Does school life drift into home life and vice versa due to time? The communication between school/teacher and parents to inform and increase involvement falls into whose timetable?

Principals’ lives are all those who are involved in the school; students, parents, staff, teachers and Board staff. Not to forget their home, family and self life. The implementation of policy, curriculum, staff management, teacher’s resource and guidance and school operations are time commitments. The time and effort needed to make a school ‘shine’ is not just that of the principal but also that of the student, teacher and parent. Is the principal there for the school or for the Board?

Trustees, administrators, superintendents & board staff must see everything as a whole yet as individuals.  What and how they work lies in the policies/strategies they have developed.  The oneness.  The time of students, teachers, principals and parents are all affected.

Who is filling the plate? How heaped can it become? They can all eat the rewards/success but make sure it is a balanced meal.

It is said a community is needed to raise a child. Are parents, students, teachers, principals, staff, administrators, board staff, Trustees; a part of the community or an individual household? Is there a community within the school or a household? How does a household become part of the community? How do you draw them into the community? What role does everyone play within the community?  Does time play a role?

How do your decisions affect the time of those around you? You value your time but do you value the time of others?