I’m lucky because my classroom comes with just a bit of office space. And on the desk in my office sits a medium-sized pile of old worksheets, grammar packets, research paper handouts, and handwritten notes on tell-tale yellow legal pad pages.
They need to be consolidated.
Or organized.
Or at least filed.
Or, if I’m totally honest with myself, the stack probably needs to be eased off the desk, directly into the circular file that sits mere inches below.
Sure, I might use those worksheets someday. But I might not.
No matter what, though, I will doing something with them starting tomorrow.
2.
For over two decades, a large black file cabinet has sat in the corner of that same office.
A week or so ago, I emptied three of the four drawers in that cabinet. The fourth drawer contains personal/sentimental stuff I’m still not sure what I’ll do with: Photographs, old letters, my secret stash of snacks (granola bars, trail mix, Corn Nuts, Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts**, etc.), and of course, Classic Rock CDs.
But I took every assignment and activity folder that I use every year out of the other three drawers, and instructed my T.A. to pitch the remaining files in the dumpster behind the woodshop. Some of those files had been there since the early 90’s.
It’s been about ten days, and so far I haven’t gone for anything I tossed. And I probably won’t. And when that fourth drawer is empty, then the entire file cabinet will go.
Then I’ll start on the other two.
So here’s my question: What is still in your class that would give you a sense of peace, space, and freedom if it just simply went away? And could you see your way clear to make that happen?*** TZT
*So does that make it 4-Minute Zen? Just curious.
** Don’t judge.
*** Technically, I guess that’s two questions.