Maximise Your Efforts in Classroom with Minimalism
Minimalism has recently been talked about by a lot of people, and more and more people are starting to become minimalists using the concept in every sphere of life.
So, what is minimalism about?
Well, it simply means that one becomes minimalistic once s/he makes a deliberate choice to remove any unnecessary material possession from life and focuses on just the simple things that are required to function. This means fewer clothes, spending less money, moving into a smaller apartment, organising things, and decluttering.
Using the minimalistic approach is proven to make an individual more productive, and less worried and anxious. If this approach can be applied in financial literacy or everyday lifestyle, we should also be able to apply it in education, right? That’s exactly what this blog will try to address.
To be a minimalist teacher is no cakewalk. Teachers and facilitators, in the Indian education system, are burdened and held back by a lot of responsibilities — both in the classroom and of the administration. Focusing on delivering qualitative content completely becomes quite a task for the teachers in this case. However, if we try implementing few of these things into our classrooms, they can make a huge difference in your mental stability, learning for the students, and organising responsibilities of the teachers are work of the students. They would not be something extraordinary, but simple things that can have a profound effect if implemented properly.
1. Focus more on planning
Spend some time before your classes and try to figure out how many activities/worksheets directly cater to the learning objective that you have set for the session. Try to archive the ones that are not directly related and use them with some other theme. This does not mean that the facilitator is becoming lazy by not providing enough material; it would rather mean s/he is trying her/his best to give all the relevant material to the students, which might also declutter things and result into more effective learning for the students.
2. Get rid of the excess stuff
Look around in the classroom — do you have anything in that space that is not required at the moment? Is it only taking up area and you aren’t able to use it regularly? Then maybe it’s time to set those things free!
Irrelevant posters, boxes, toys, etcetera should be removed immediately for the classroom to have space for you to walk around freely.
3. Keep a check on the time you consume
It is very evident that once you have implemented the first two points stated above, your day will have more time for you to strategise and structure things for your classroom. Even after that, a facilitator should keep a check on how her/his is being consumed, maybe s/he can record or document this in order to manage time better.
As I said above, these points aren’t revolutionary ideas but simple practices having a pronounced effect on the classrooms. Go ahead, practice them, and maximise your efficiency by being a minimalistic teacher.
