One of my hallmark routines as a classroom teacher was leaving work each day, with my classroom ready for the following day’s lessons and learning.  The goal was to be able to, if necessary, walk into the room, flip on the light switch, and be ready to teach.  Part of that motivation was born out of a potentially silly worry that something would come up in the morning that would keep me from being prepared for class.  Maybe that is a common stress and worry that teachers live with (especially since many teachers, like me, were likely conscientious students who similarly wanted to be ready for class as students).  Even with years of experience and a demonstrated ability to wing it if necessary, I never got accustomed to the feeling of starting a class without adequate preparation.  

The second reason I developed this daily habit was perhaps even more important.  It allowed me to use my morning time before class much more strategically.  I could use the time in the morning to work on future lesson and unit planning, connect with students (especially students who might be struggling in class), collaborate and connect with my teacher colleagues, and attend to the countless logistical and administrative tasks that teachers have to work through on a daily basis.  

I also have never been a person who liked to take work home.  For whatever reason, I like to do work at work and try to protect my time at home (of course, that preference has been totally disrupted this past year during virtual and hybrid learning, and admittedly I really enjoyed my opportunity to experience working from home).  The ending of the regular school day set into motion my secondary work day.  Immediately following classes I would typically offer either office hours for students seeking (or requiring) additional support, or sponsor student clubs.  Occassionally I would also have professional meetings as a department chair, or part of the school IB or AVID leadership teams.  Rare were the days that I didn’t have some formal responsibility immediately after the school day.  

Once my formal after-school responsibilities were concluded, I would settle into my grading and assessment work.  Of all of my professional duties, grading student work was my least favorite.  Mostly, this was due to my belief that student assessment feedback is best delivered as part of the instructional practice of the school day, as opposed to teachers assessing work offline to be returned to students at a later time.  I’m a big advocate of Assessment for Learning, as opposed to the more traditional approach to assessment of learning.  Despite my deliberate efforts to minimize the grading work that had to occur with students not present, there were assessment tasks that could not be avoided.  I tried very hard to complete any grading the same day that it was turned in.  

Grading completed, my last task of the day would be reviewing and prepping for the following day of instruction.  This meant reviewing my lesson and unit plans, updating my boards (daily agenda, Do Now, daily objectives, etc.), preparing any materials, and leaving everything ready to go for the following day.  Only then did I feel like I was ready to call it a day.