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.