September Challenge
I was inspired by Pocketful of Primary to try some new things this semester. All throughout 2020, Michelle has been doing teacher monthly challenges. In January, she left her classroom on time every day, and for the month of May, she challenged herself to only work contract hours. For me, it’s pretty easy to leave my classroom at the end of the day, but to only work contract hours? That sounded absolutely impossible.
University teachers in China generally have 18 teaching hours a week. Those 18 hours are just the hours that they are teaching in the classroom and don’t include any outside activities, grading, or lesson planning. My school has an unusually low number of hours. My contract stipulates 14 teaching hours, and this semester, I have an extra class, which brings me to 16 teaching hours a week.
So for the month of September, I’ve decided to see if I can only work 20 hours a week.
Here are my guidelines:
16 hours of teaching
4 hours of lesson planning or grading
Student communication (including WeChat) will not be included in the 20 weeks; however, I do want to try to record how much time is spent on that. If a student asks me a question, wants to chat, or asks for advice, none of that will count towards the 20 weeks.
Doing a good job is a priority for me, and being a responsible and trustworthy teacher is important to me, so if something comes up and I do have to work more than the 4 hours, I will do what I need to do. If there is any overtime, I will record it.
I can work any time, including nights and weekends, but any time I work, I need to record how long I worked in order to make sure I don’t go over the 4 hours.
This challenge isn’t about being lazy and working as little as possible! Instead, I’m hoping it will help me control my workload and lead to a more balanced lifestyle. Even if I go over the 20 hours, I think the challenge will help me work more efficiently, and help me know where exactly I’m putting my time and energy.
Wish me luck!
Check out Michelle’s website for more inspiration at: https://www.pocketfulofprimary.com
If you’d like to watch the original video, click here: https://youtu.be/a3QUHFknZds