What Does Five Minutes Really Mean? #SAVMP

In the grand scheme of things, what does five minutes really mean?  As we are nearing the end of the first semester, subtle distractions start to appear.  Students begin to focus more on Winter Break - if they are elementary age, students are most likely focusing on Christmas and Santa Clause. :-)  It is at this point we all tend to fall prey to lapses in focus.  This is not uncommon, but does raise a good question.  What does five minutes really mean?  

My wife and I had this discussion about a month ago.  My wife is also in education.  She is a Library Media Specialist at an elementary school.  I joke about her being too detail oriented and fixated on time.  However, when it comes to teaching, she is efficient.  She practices a "bell to bell" approach to teaching in which students are engaged in whole group, small group, brain breaks, independent work, etc.,all within 60 minutes each day. To her, five minutes means a lot!

It is time that a students can get lost in a book.  It is time that a student can seek out new information.  It is time that a student can seek out information to provide support or argument.  It is time for a student to review, practice, and apply an new skill.  Five minutes is a lot!

When broken down, here is what five minutes equates to: 5 minutes wasted per day over 180 school days equals 900 minutes.  Yes, 900 minutes!  That's 15 hours, or two entire school days, of wasted opportunities to learn .  Now, if we apply 5 wasted minutes to each hour of the school day, we waste 35 minutes per day.  Factor 35 wasted minutes to 180 school days, we effectively loose 6,300 minutes, or 105 hours!  This loss of time amounts to 15 days of school, or three weeks of instruction!  

I am reminded by a quote from Benjamin Franklin, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”  Most of our wasted time comes from unexpected problems (technology issues, need to make copies of an assignment, an unexpected conversation with a student or colleague, etc.).  Yes, these things do occur.  However, as professionals, we need to make sure we are paying attention to every detail (checking websites for compatibility, making copies prior to class, asking to follow up with students or colleagues later).  I know as a principal of an elementary school, I am guilty of stealing time and am working on changing this habit.  After all, I don't want to be responsible for wasting anyone's time, because five minutes really means a lot.

It Takes a Village... #SAVMP

   The old adage, "It takes a village to raise a child," is often used in education.  We take this perspective, as it exemplifies how the school community works together to do what is best for children.  Recently, I have witnessed this adage in full display, as our school district worked with local businesses, churches, parents, community members, and high school students to renovate our elementary school play ground.

   This project began over 10 years ago, with a very passionate PTO.  They wanted desperately for their children to have a new playground.  At that time, district administrators encouraged the PTO to begin raising funds to see the project come to fruition.  However, 10 years later, the project was still in the fundraising stage. 

   Last summer, the PTO made a substantial donation to the school district in the amount of $10,000 to be used to purchase a new elementary playground, complete with an ADA transfer location, various climbing options, slides, and the ability to serve all students in PreK-5th grade.  This donation, along with district capitol outlay dollars, purchased a wonderful state-of-the-art playground for our students.  However, the generosity didn't stop there.  In a three week span, local businesses and patrons donated money, concrete, excavating, labor, machinery, and food to see a "Community Build Day" happen for our students.  On Saturday, October 26, nearly 40 parents, staff, community members and high school students gathered at the elementary school to build this new playground.

   

   People from all walks of life, various levels of income, board members, district administrators, parents, grandparents, and most importantly students gathered for over 16 hours to install this amazing playground.  While it was awesome to see the community come together, it was seeing the high school students, who came back to work on their elementary school, that was most powerful.  These high school students will never play on this equipment. However, the pride they have in their community and school allowed them to build a playground for students 10 years younger.  They are part of this nurturing "village."  This one day in time will last in my memory for a lifetime.