Thoughts on the Teacher Pilot Final Session

I wish you guys could understand the opportunity Jayme gave me when she offered up her school as a pilot school. Jayme had been talking about the Education Friday Workbox® and explaining how she was so organized, but I was still shocked that she was able to get approval overnight! It was an easy “yes” for the superintendent because he knew it was already so effective for Jayme. I am so excited to share how it went!

“Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.” - Bill Gates 

The same can be said for our houses. Most people overestimate what they can achieve in one weekend or month and underestimate what they can achieve in one year. 

It’s funny, through developing Organize 365® I’ve been able to identify that we do not focus on decluttering or productivity as much as we focus on learning organization. The first one aids organization and the last is allowed due to organization. When I wrote “Organization Is a Learnable Skill”, that’s what I shared; my acts of organization. When we are organized, we get the pay off of productivity. I’m excited to dive into the book study and dig into how you can achieve results, too!

Three years after launching Organize 365®, I was able to be the business owner and send my team out into the field. After six years of effectively running Organize 365® due to organization leading to productivity, I was still blogging, had the podcast, the early stages of what is now The Productive Home Solution®, and manufacturing for the Sunday Basket®. I was still in multiple direct sales companies and the train wasn’t stopping any time soon. But If you would have told me I would accomplish all of that, I am not sure I would have expected to.

I used to love to stay after school when I was a teacher and organize a fellow teachers’ space. They loved when I bopped into their classrooms. 

I say all of that to tell you that at that time, I launched 8 workboxes. I had a box for all the things I was doing. And the Education Friday Workbox® was one of those 8. Being a teacher is so different from any other career. When you need a potty break at work, you get up and go, right? Not a teacher, they are in charge and looking after multiple children. They can’t just leave them unattended. I have such an understanding of the teacher world, workload, and home life. So I knew how to make the Friday Workbox® work for teachers. 

I truly believe this should be on each teacher’s supply list. It’s a one time purchase and then a lifetime of organization in the classroom. The real issue becomes who pays for it; I don’t think this should also fall on the teacher! Should it come from the federal budget? The state budget? Or the local educational budget? Each state operates a little differently so we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. Our teachers really only get paid based on instructional time with students. But what many may not realize is all the administrative tasks they have, the responsibility to meet curriculum, nurturing the relationships with students and parents, and time that takes away from their families and pets that rely on them, too. They do not get paid based on all of the invisible work they do that is not optional!

Our teachers make large sacrifices of mental capacity for the career that they love. 

Did I call Sally’s mom back? I need 4 toilet paper rolls for that experiment tomorrow. Those are just a few examples of what teachers are trying to remember. We need to help teachers free up their mental overwhelm! They are constantly surpassing their mental capacity. I designed this pilot to teach them how to write those thoughts down quickly, something that can be done right in the middle of class, and continue on with the lesson. Then at the end of the week, sort them into slash pockets and conquer the tasks. It’s so gratifying to free up mental capacity for them in a way that makes them confident everything will still get handled. Because I understand this world so much, I decided to create 3 more slash pocket colors for the Education Friday Workbox®.

So, how did it go?

What I Discovered

It was interesting to me that all three sessions I led were mandatory. There were 52 people in attendance. This was offered to all faculty, not just teachers. Thirty-five staff members took on the opportunity to get organized for a more smoothly run classroom.

The special needs teachers showed that they needed additional support. After doing a zoom with the special needs teachers, I decided to offer the Paper Organizing Retreat to all of the special needs teachers. Because what I learned was, almost all of the special needs teachers were new to teaching or new to their school building. That’s a lot of newness and it explained their desire for more support! I had 4 of them attend plus Jayme. I sat down with them and learned more about their students and their workload. We came up with customized solutions for each teacher. That’s the thing about any of the workboxes. They will get you 80% of the way there, but then you have to customize it to work for you and your needs.

They all felt that for the third session they would like to learn home organization. I was open to other topics like lesson planning. But of course, I love that they were experiencing organization at work and wanted it for home, too. Yes, get both trains running!!

What Puzzled Me

I was fascinated to learn that only 2 out of all participants had a digital only organizational process. Which meant that of the remaining participants, 50% were hybrid of both paper and digital while the remaining 50% were paper only. Mind blown because I always hear of people trying to get a digital system perfected. But what I think is actually happening is that they are doing double duty!

I’m also curious for the faculty that attended but did not take the Education Friday Workbox®, were the first two mandatory sessions beneficial? Should educators get an Education Friday Workbox® during college or first year teaching? Different states evaluate for IEP’s through different entities.

What I Would Love

I would love for all teachers to have the Education Friday Workbox® and embrace it! I would love to see professional development for teachers via the Education Friday Workbox®. I’d love to be able to improve their mental health by freeing up their mental capacity. And I’d love to see teacher retention.

I’m excited for this to become an actual study. But for now, I am happy with this pilot and it will add credibility to studies in the future. I’d love to help more educators as part of this Education Friday Workbox® pilot.

What I Need to Move Forward

Do you have knowledge about your state and how things are funded for education? Do I need to be part of a special vendor portal? Is there a certain list for vendors to offer professional development for your schools? Do the districts make the decisions in your state? Does your state have an initiative for teacher retention?

Are you on the board, PTO, a teacher or a principal and think this is something you may want to do in your building? Do you want to offer it just to first and second year teachers? Or on a voluntary basis? Who makes the decisions? Who do I need to talk to? Do they want to meet in person? What can I do to advocate for these teachers? Who is open to receiving this information?

Please email me at [e-mail] if you have answers to any of my questions or can aid introductions. I am taking you all on this journey so you can see that  though I do not know the answers, I keep trying. The success or failure of execution will determine my next steps. I have been uniquely created for a time like this. 

I have been uniquely created to create online courses to teach people organization through the internet to make visible the invisible work done at home and work. And after my PhD, I will do research to make visible the cognitive and mental load in all these areas at a scientific level to elevate the conversation of systems and structures that need to be in place for adults, just like we have for children, in school, home, work, and teacher environments.

I want you too to discover what you are uniquely created to do!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• Education Friday Workbox®

• Paper Organizing Retreat

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter 

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday.

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