Teachers, Save Your Time and Money: Skip These 6 Back-to-School Items

Professional Development and Inspiration

Last week, teachers in my district returned to school. With staff meetings, safety reviews, and convocation, time was short.

I’m sure you’ve been there too: trying to paste on a polite look while counting the moments until the back-to-school speaker takes a bow.

That’s why I want to help save your time with 6 things you do not need for back-to-school.

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Kind of Chic to Not Be Chic (or Broke)

First, your classroom does not need to be Pinterest-worthy. If interior decorating brings you joy, go for it! However, if you’re feeling pressure to coordinate colors or design elaborate bulletin boards, save your time.

A cute classroom aesthetic does not make you a better teacher. Instead, quality teachers surround themselves with sustainable procedures and functional organization.

Similarly, you do not need to go broke building or designing your classroom. Obviously, your money is your own, and you can spend it however you’d like. That being said: the amount of money you spend on your classroom has no bearing on whether or not you are a good teacher. I could stand on this soapbox all day, so you can read more here.

Instead of investing in fabric swatches, save your time and invest in systems that work. For that matter, you can save your time by ditching elaborate, complicated classroom systems. Complexity does not lead to superiority; design simple systems with logical steps and practice them over and over again. Here are systems every classroom needs:

Entering and exiting the room
Going to the restroom, nurse, etc.
Turning in and passing out work
Handling late and absent work
Transitioning between activities

Say Less

At the start of a new school year, save your time by skipping the education buzzwords and newfangled lingo.

Education is all about shiny new acronyms to repackage different learning ideas and teaching strategies. In particular, please do not get hamstrung on manipulative rhetoric. My favorite example of this is “remember your why.” Don’t spin your wheels or fixate on lingo that’s meant to mask injustice, promote silence, or conceal the emotional labor of caring teachers.

Please, save your time by focusing on what matters and works: building relationships with your students, collaborating with your peers, and using best practices.

Flash and Substance

A course syllabus is an important, foundational document in most high school classrooms. However, you do not need a boring syllabus day. Instead, save your time by focusing on back-to-school activities and strategies designed to foster classroom community, build relationships, and practice relationships.

Here are some of my favorite ways to start the year:

First, I love a syllabus Scavenger Hunt. This is what I’m using with my students this year! You can design your own here.
Similarly, I have also used Syllabus BINGO. I am always surprised by how much even big kids love this game.
Classroom Bucket Lists are a fun way to get students writing and chatting with one another.
For a longer writing sample, Back-to-School Journals are one of my favorite tools. My students are writing journal entries on the second day of school.
Finally, back-to-school stations are a great way to accomplish multiple goals: students can explore the syllabus at one station, write journals at another, explore the classroom library at another, and build bucket lists at another.

The Best Ways to Save Your Time

Even if you ignore all the rest of my suggestions to save your time, take these ideas with you.

First, you do not need to do it all alone. The best teachers do not work in isolation. Instead, seek collaboration and mentorship. There are times when you have to close the door and teach, but a school community only works if we all engage.

Similarly, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. As a new teacher, I tried to do this again and again. So often, the best way to save your time is by building on what is already in place. Yes, you can improve resources and strategies. But no, you do not need to start from scratch. If you’re looking for a place to begin, here’s my starter pack for back-to-school: