some ideas about scheduling and routines

our schedule, although at times frustrating, really feels like a gift to a former public school teacher like me. i see my students four days a week, three of those days for one hour and one day for two hours and ten minutes. in new york i learned that routines are my friend and i continue to use them here as much as i can.

my intermediate drawing and painting class meets monday, wednesday, thursday, friday. so i decided each day would have a separate purpose. and since monday is all on its own at the beginning of the week...and the fall of 10th grade is dangerously close to 9th grade and they are still let's say... hmm hmm..."maturing"...i thought something should happen on that day that doesn't have to tie in directly for us to get going on wednesday. so the schedule i created goes something like this. 

on mondays we "drop everything and draw", also known as d.e.a.d. (they like that). 

on wednesdays i introduce a more in-depth drawing or painting project. 

on thursdays they have their 2 hour block and they dive into the more in-depth project. 

on fridays they decide how to use their time best, either to work on or improve homework assignments, finish major projects, or make up d.e.a.d. assignments they might have missed due to absence.

my ultimate plan is that i will use wednesdays to introduce a new project each week for about 6 weeks (half the term). the projects will take longer than a week to complete so by the middle of the term they will be working more independently. the focus is on the final portfolio of works rather than on individual assignments. we all start together but we finish at different times (at our own pace). no due dates. things can always be worked on more. 

i started to think about doing this when i was visiting my friend julie who is a middle school montessori teacher last fall. i visited her school and she told me how they don't really hold class per se. the students move along at their own pace and i thought...duh. maybe i could do that in my classroom. now, montessori students have been "trained" to do this, but i have small classes and the support to try it so here it goes. 

will they be able to handle it? i'm not sure. last friday was a little rough. what i've alrady discovered is that the stronger students are moving more slowly and the weaker students are moving more quickly. i'm not sure i like that. 

i'll keep posting the tactics i develop to combat...socializing during the time when they should be moving ahead, tracking their progress, having critiques with people at different stages, etc.