Reflective Teaching: Day 7

Guess what? I still haven't uploaded those pictures! I am clearly on my A-game with this...

Because of my lack of picture uploading, I will move on to the next Reflective Teaching challenge. My reflection today: What's in your desk drawer, and what can you infer from those contents?

Haha. This makes me laugh. Which drawer? What time of year? When I was pregnant with Jackson, I tore through my desk in the office and cleaned it out right before period 1. I didn't finish. I had to leave it a mess and go teach. I did finish during period 2. Nesting at its finest.

Anyway, that wasn't the question. If you look in any of my desk drawers you will find some assortment of the following:

Paperclips
Post-it notes
Pens
Markers
Pencils
Binder clips
Hall passes
Staples and Stapler
Tape and dispenser
Tide To-Go Pen
Gum and/or mints
Tums
Tylenol or Motrin
Stamps and ink
Stickers
Ruler
Calculator
Keys (coaching keys, usually)
Masking tape
Chapstick
Hair product
Small brush
Band-aids

I am sure I am forgetting things, but you get the gist. I have a lot of school supplies and a lot of medical and beauty aids. So the school supplies are fairly self-explanatory...I teach...I need things to write notes on, to write with, and to generally keep the administrative side of my job together. I have medicine because sometimes you just don't feel well, but you still need to get it together and work. And, secret, it's easier to go to school sick than to make sub plans. If I can pull it together, I will be at school. Most of the beauty products come out when I have parent conferences or back to school night. After a long day teaching I generally need a touch up before meeting with parents (or other important people). The Tide-to-Go is because I spill things. The Band-Aids are because I get a lot (and I mean a lot) of paper cuts.

Now, I do have all of the things I need, so I suppose you could say I am always prepared; however, they are in total disarray, so I am a little disorganized. I find my desk drawers are where that ends. I try to keep (and generally do keep) everything else fairly organized and in place. At the beginning of the year, my desk drawers are usually clean and organized, but they devolve over the course of the year. Honestly, I rarely venture in them unless I really need something. The things I need (pen, classroom key, ID, etc) are in my bag or around my neck. If they aren't...that's means I left them at home...and that is when I really have a bad day!