Eliminate Interruptions

Every teacher loves to hear the school's intercom system ding on and off. As a teacher, nothing is more frustrating than having to stop teaching, tune into the intercom, and then, remember what was being presented after I have been informed about the school’s tardy policy or absenteeism policy. Five minutes here and five minutes there and the next thing you know, you have lost valuable teaching time from your day.

Now, as a teacher, I understand that we are unable to fix those problems that exist on the school level. At the school level, you can offer suggestions. Here are a few examples that schools can implement to minimize unnecessary disruptions:

1. Have announcements first thing in the morning and at other designated times during the day. Maybe announcements should only be allowed to be made three minutes prior to the bell that ends each class period or send announcements electronically to teacher’s email inboxes. I understand this creates a problem as some teachers do not read their email or know how to read their email.

2. Have hall monitors in hallways controlling noise and student traffic when classes are in session.

Though as a teacher, you can control what happens in your classroom. Here are some suggestions as to policies and procedures that you may wish to implement to minimize meaningless interruptions.

1. Tell students that if you are in class, then they have no reason to visit you if they are in another class. Students will usually understand and scurry away.

2. Outline policies, discuss policies, and enforce policies. Make sure parents and students know what is expected. You can even provide a written list of the policies and procedures and ask the students and parents to sign them in the beginning of the school year.

3. Outline procedures, discuss procedures and make sure that students follow your procedures. If procedures get sloppy, then have the students practice procedures until they get them right.

4. Lock your door and monitor who comes to see you. If it is a parent wanting to know something from you, then tell the parent that you are teaching and ask him or her to email you, phone you or leave a message in the office for you. Otherwise, schedule a time with the parent when it is a more convenient time, like during your planning period. This is also true for a fellow teacher. Generally, all that a teacher has to do is to be professional about the interruption.

As a teacher, I understand the importance of being flexible, but at the same time, disruptions can hinder a teacher from doing his or her job and getting in a full day of instruction time if he or she allows such disruptions. If teachers do not have a plan to manage such interruptions, then the disruptions will win, and your students will be no better off than they were when the entered your room at the beginning of the semester.