Teaching during the season

Take it easy

Over time you learn to work smarter which can make things much more managable for you during the season. If you have been teaching the same content area all along then you likely have all the major planning work for individual units completed which removes one huge time robbing job. Grading as much as possible using technology- scantrons sheets or clickers (computer grades as he student enters their answers) or grading things together in class can be a huge time saver. Also look to plan things around say game day if you are a guy that has some nerves or needs "quiet time" or whatever.

Always remember the teaching is what pays the bills so take care of things as they should be taken care of.

I get paid more to teach than coach, so most of my time goes to teaching. Honestly, I don't teach any differently during football season than I do the rest of the school year. That's what I've done for all 36 years I've taught and coached. Teaching, and the time associated, comes first.

I never really did anything different during football when I had fulltime teaching jobs. I teach English so the grading load is going to be time consuming no matter what time of year it is. Aboutas the only thing I did in terms of taking football into account was plan all "major" writing assignments for second semester and teach a novel first semester.

I teach AP and honors so there is no time off; but to be honest I wouldn't want it. I get FED UP, with half effort teachers who just assign reading and quiet work most of the time. There should be something to differentiate yourself from a tape recording.

Now I get that some days you don't feel well, but that's in every walk of life. Consider it this way, would you ever just "take it easy" on the coaching field? I hope not. I think the best way to attack this is pride; yes I know this reads cheesy, but to me its honest. You should make it your goal to NEVER teach a bad lesson, the same way you NEVER want a bad practice.

I am a first year PE teacher at a elementary school, and just got hired as the head varsity wrestling coach at a bigger school in the district. I am a little worried about being able to handle everything, but I am planning as much in advance as I can. Even with that, I worry that I might have some trouble when practice starts next Monday staying on top of everything,

I get there when the doors open every day. I am driving about an hour to get there, so I get up about 4am and leave my house about 5. I laugh when I see all the teachers come dragging in at 7:15 when the kids are getting there. They ask me how I always look so awake, I just laugh and say been up since 4am.

I didn't think I had a chance of getting this head coaching job, I had 1 year of varisty experience and interviewed really for the experience of interviewing for a varsity head coaching job. The AD called me 2 days later to offer me the position, I was shocked. I knew the interview went well, but I didn't think I would get the job with that little experience. He said he saw potential and was willing to take the chance on me.

Like Mike and Bigdog said, get there early.

I love the quiet time of 615 in the morning at school. It is the only time of the day where I really feel I can get something done with no chance of distractions.

It's simply a time-management issue - same as it is for the kids who play Football, go to school, have social and family lives.

I also liked to get to school early and get ready for my day without being distracted. Having 1st Hour Prep was great, too, when I did.

A lot of you are talking about getting to school early... We have 1st period JH athletics on the line 6:50, so we get here around 6:20 everyday. Then a full teaching load, one conference period right before HS athletics (field setup), then HS practice till 6. You guys must be at bigger schools

Coaching is who I am. Teaching is what I do. With that being said I would guess 95% of us on here pay the bills with our teaching jobs. We ask our kids to be student-athletes, we should be teacher-coaches. You take pride in your coaching take pride in your classroom. Sure it's human nature to need a break every now and then but don't be that guy who does nothing during football. I also find that being active in the classroom helps the day go by a lot faster and it doesn't seem like a grind when you are busy.

Take a play off and you get sat on the bench. I showed a 10 minute video on Hercules, mythology is part of our history curriculum, on Friday to two classes who were ahead of the others. And I got called into the office. And I have gone way above and beyond this year with trying to incorporate essay based exams in conjunction with the English department to "teach across the curriculum" as well as a journal to instruct different types of writing using History content as the medium. I have also brought in novels that we read and reflect on as a class. And I take a play off and I get called on the carpet. Perhaps I start sending all of my discipline issues to the office and increase their workload.

English teacher, Head coach - I have an old army cot in the fieldhouse. I use it from Thursday night through Monday night during the season. I don't go home.