Diane Mierzwik - Classroom Record Keeping Made Simple: Tips for Time-Strapped Teachers

Copyright 2005 by Corwin Press.

First Skyhorse Publishing edition 2018

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Rose Storey

Print ISBN: 978-1-51073-692-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-51073-698-6

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Preface

D avid had failed class, actually several classes, and his parents were livid, but not because David hadnt received good instructional time or hadnt been exposed to the grade-level curriculum. His parents were upset with the teachers for not notifying them of Davids impending failure.

Many teachers in the meeting pointed out that the parents had been notified via the mandatory progress report, which conveniently never made it into the parents possession. One teacher, on the other hand, produced a phone log indicating the times he had contacted the parents because of Davids missing work, provided the parents with several of Davids assignments with their signatures on them indicating notification of a failing grade, and a detention slip signed by the motherthe detention was for failure to complete a major project.

At first, the parents wanted to argue with the teacher, implying that he hadnt done enough to notify them, but in the face of all the records, they admitted that they were disappointed in David and their trust in him had been broken.

Although 25 percent of all secondary schools are currently involved in lawsuits (see www.Edweek.org), the likelihood of you, as a teacher, being involved in a lawsuit is lower. Unfortunately, the chances of your classroom practices being called into question are much higher.

A colleague of mine was absent for the day, and the substitute teacher showed a video that was inappropriate. When Samson returned from his illness, he was bombarded by angry parents phone calls about the previous days lesson plans. Luckily, Samson had written clear lesson plans for the substitute teacher that did not include watching a video. He had a record of his intentions for his students regarding the curriculum to be covered in his absence. Instead of wasting time defending his practices in the classroom, Samson quickly responded to the angry parents with a copy of the lesson plan left for the substitute teacher, which reassured parents of Samsons professionalism. The substitute teacher was never called to work within the school district again, and Samson had parental support for the remainder of the year.

WHY KEEP MORE RECORDS?

Most teachers already spend a hefty chunk of time each day keeping records: recording grades, documenting classroom management, attending meetings, and keeping notes. If you are already spending so much of your work week documenting and reporting on your actions with students, how could you possibly keep more records without jeopardizing your instructional time with students, your planning time for students, or your private time with family?

Keeping more records does not require you to spend more time keeping records. It requires you to manage the paper trail already produced in your daily teaching to justify classroom decisions, protect yourself against unwarranted attacks, and provide your school and/or school district with records for improving instruction for future curriculum decisions. You will find that managing these records saves you time in the course of your day, your week, your semester, your school year, and your teaching career.

GOALS OF THE BOOK

As teachers, we deal with stacks and stacks of paper every day. How do we manage those and more papers without a full-time secretary to help us? The goal of this book is to provide you with tools and techniques to use the papers already generated in your day, fine-tune paperwork for use as records, and create time-saving records to alleviate some of the time-consuming practices you may be using.

In our daily teaching, papers are naturally generated that can be used for record keeping. Papers like messages from the front office, parent letters generated from the office, and school meeting agendas can all be filed for future reference. Your lesson plans or planning book and other papers you create in your day-to-day teaching can be used to inform your decisions. With an understanding of how these papers can be filed for later use, you will be able to begin keeping records without adding any time to your teaching day.

Finally, creating some record-keeping practices will actually save you time in the course of your teaching year and your teaching career. Using document records such as phone logs, tutoring sign-ins, or seating charts will help you to keep accurate records of your parent contacts, your time with students, and behavioral management in class. These records require very little of your time up front and save you time in the long run, especially if your practices are ever called into question.

The goal of the book is to help you keep records to inform your decisions, plot your successes, and save time.

WHAT KIND OF RECORD KEEPER ARE YOU?

Each year at tax time, I sit down and gather all my records. Now, my records are more like a paper trail, literally. Im the Hansel and Gretel of keeping records, collecting rocks to drop along my path to find my way home so I dont end up in the IRSs oven. I dont sit down once a month, as is suggested in most books, to log in my expenditures and record my receipts. I dont use a computer program or any other electronic form of keeping records. Instead, I have a drawer where I throw all my receipts for the year or, if Im really organized, an accordion file to throw these papers in until a week before my tax appointment.

A week before my tax appointment, I empty out my drawer of papers and begin stacking them into piles: rentals, school, home, child care, et cetera. Inevitably, I keep papers that I dont need and that end up in the trash, but rarely is there something I need that I didnt keep. Once I have stacks, I begin organizing them and calculating my numbers to give to Big Al, my taxman.

I know my system appears to be unsystematic. How do I keep track of whether or not Im staying within my budget? How do I know if Im going to come out ahead or behind at the end of the year for taxes? My answer: Its all in my head. Im intuitively a good money manager. I dont need to sit down every month to keep track of my finances. Would I do a better job of managing my money if I did? That remains to be seen. Once my child is grown and I have more time on my hands, I may try another method, but for now, given my time commitments to my family, career, and hobbies, this system is working for me.