Practicing What I've Praught

As a teacher, of course, I have to preach the virtues of organization and discipline. I should also model it, by getting student work back on a reasonably quick basis. That has, unfortunately, always been my greatest flaw, and I don't do a great job of modeling. I don't judge that it is hypocrisy, however, that I enforce consequences on those who are not organized and disciplined, for it is my job to form young adults to be effective in the next few years. Parents do not pay me (through the school) to replicate myself, with all my flaws intact, in my students. They pay me to reinforce the virtues they hope their children will grow up to possess. In fact, if I were not, in the name of not being hypocritical, to enforce upon them the requirements of the wider society, even those I have trouble following myself, I would be negligent, for I know how difficult life is when one is disorganized as I am.

Why am I writing this? Because I'm still blogging, instead of writing parents back, grading papers, organizing papers, or reading that book. But I do have a purpose (excuse?) here: I have 3 periods off per diem and I monitor detention, and I am going to make myself a little schedule:

A. Drop off yesterday's tardy sheet to office,
Read e-mails from parents,
Listen to voice-mail messages,
Respond to all messages,
B. Grade as much as possible,
Eat lunch,
C. Grade as much as possible,
D. Finish responding to parent e-mails.

I'm going to do the last one now. Let's see if I actually follow this schedule.