What Do Successful Teachers Do with the First Hour of Their Work Day?
Updated: Jun 25, 2021
By Megan Gross
Inspired by a recent Fast Company article on the habits of successful business folks during their first hour of work, we asked our colleagues about their morning routines. Although the colleagues we surveyed work in different schools and states, their morning activities reflect on the skills essential to the role of a successful teacher: communication, collaboration, and preparation.
What do successful teachers (inclusion, special/general education or other educators) do during their first hour of work?
1) Review calendar & schedule for the day
One of our colleagues starts the day by asking, “Is there anything special or potentially difficult happening today?” as she reviews her calendar. She looks for schedule changes, such as assemblies, fire drills, or special events on campus, and if there are any paraprofessionals who called in sick. With this information, a student’s visual schedule can be updated to reflect the day’s activities, adjustments to staffing can be made, or time can be allotted to orient a sub. Several of our colleagues also have staff communication binders and these are updated every morning to include class-specific or school-wide activities, changes in the schedule, absences, or other information to assist paraprofessionals and inclusion teachers in keeping everyone in the loop.
2) Check email
Unlike the technology and business gurus profiled in the Fast Company article, teachers make a point of checking emails before the school bell rings. Some teachers quickly scan their email looking for anything that might affect the daily schedule, information from parents, and flag emails to respond to later in the day. Others find this is the only quiet time in the day to thoughtfully respond to a parent, remind a teacher about accommodations, or send out invitations to IEP meetings. For many, the mind is the freshest in the morning, making email response one of the most logical places to start.
3) Check-in with teachers or paraprofessionals
Many of our inclusion teacher colleagues are running between classrooms for the majority of the school day, so they take advantage of the time before the bell rings to talk with colleagues. Some may meet with their paraprofessionals about the upcoming school day while other teachers discuss student needs or classroom supports with general education teachers. These morning check-ins may be the only time staff interact with each other, besides passing in the hallway, before the school day is done, so teachers make an effort to talk to staff and build community one “Good morning” at a time.
4) Finish prepping a modification or paperwork
Inclusion teachers often allow time in the morning, before students arrive, to finish up a small project from the night before. Accomplishing one small task before students arrive helps one of our colleagues “dive in” to the school day and also prevents her from staying at work all night. A small task might include completing IEP data sheets or paperwork, creating modified curriculum resource for a student, or the occasional mad dash to the copy machine.
5) Morning Joe
No. Not the MSNBC show. Overwhelmingly…Coffee was a huge part of an educators morning routine. Whether it was brewed at home, taken from the staff lounge or picked up at a drive-thru on the way to school, teachers love their “black gold.” We don’t know what your morning routine is for your first hour of the day, but it is of vital importance that you have some of that time carved out for yourself just to breathe, relax, and meditate on the day at hand. Sometimes, that is the difference between a productive day and a day where you feel like you are running behind.
Megan Gross is a special education teacher and inclusion specialist in California. She has facilitated inclusive education in K-12 classrooms. Megan is the co-author of The Inclusion Toolbox: Strategies and Techniques for All Teachers and ParaEducate, a resource book for paraprofessionals and special education teachers. She currently teaches high school and is the co-advisor of her campus’ Best Buddies club. Megan lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. Follow Megan on Twitter (@MegNGross).