Welcome to my corner office with a view.  It may be a view of the faculty parking lot that I can see the freight trains roll by a few blocks away, but it is still a view I enjoy regardless. Now how to get to this window view is one that I have worked hard for and manage to get organized in matter of a few hours.

Since this date marks my eleventh year getting my room ready, I was a roaming teacher my first two years, I have this set-up down. First, the bulletin boards - forgo the paper, use plastic tablecloths. Not only do you not have to cut, folding is easy to staple, and you also don’t have to worry about the color fading. Second, keep your desk clean and clear - notice the old cart behind my desk next to the window. This helps me keep my desk clear. Third, get a separate table or cart to be a holder for teaching materials, mine are organized one binder per book or unit, a crate organized by the three classes so I have my copies for that class at hand. Also, I went with a hand-held file caddy to organize my papers - by class period, one folder with “To be graded” and one “To be returned”; so two folders per class. This way, I can just carry this fashionable, not-bulky caddy around. Fourth, since everything is computerized, there are very few “old-school teachers” who are actually younger than I am who still keep a hand-written paper grade and lesson plan book, use a clipboard. On the clipboard, I have six paper clipped bundles; five of them, one per class, include a seating chart, grade sheet, attendance sheet, and any other related notes for the class, and the sixth bundle are my lesson plans for each class for that specific week.

The anticipation of getting a classroom ready is one that has left me with a many sleepless nights, one interrupted by the 2 A.M. pee and leaves me tossing and turning until 4 A.M., when I eventually fall asleep for the final hour and half before the alarm wakes me up for real. I hope my ideas help you not loose sleep over yours.