A teacher is standing in the school corridor holding sheets of paper and oddments containing minutes of meetings, lesson plans, a reminder of school trip duty and anything else teachers have to juggle. A trio of students, who are not looking where they are going, suddenly bump into a now unhappy looking teacher, as all these bits of paper are scattered on the floor. Detention.
Weve seen this all too familiar scene many times on American high school films, school dramas and our very own Grange Hill. But long gone are the days where teachers and students carry around battered diaries with pages hanging out. Getting organised throughout the school year is generally a lot easier now.
Yes, technology has made it easier to keep on top of things with personal organisers being built in to mobile phones etc. but that is an expensive business and not the kind of gadget you want to be carrying around in a school. Besides, many schools have a no mobile phone policy. Im talking about the trusty school planner.
The tatty school diary has evolved into the durable school planner. Teachers and pupils alike can pull them out of their bags and scribble down all the important bits of information that get passed on during the school day.
Properly designed school planners are more than just diaries with a plastic front and back. With the increasing demands from the school term there is a basic format to every school, but every institution is different and has different needs or ways of operating. School planners dont come in one-size-fits-all anymore and schools can design their very own bespoke planners.
There are loads of individual elements that schools can incorporate into their planners. For instance the policy, coat of arms and motto are unique to each school as are local addresses or help lines that can be added. Although pupils and teachers are aware of school policy it is always handy to have them written down to gain that mutual understanding between staff and pupils, for instance the bullying policy, rules for internet usage or school outings.
Schools have their own commendation or rewards scheme, which can be monitored in the school planner so students have a good idea of how they are doing in class. If teachers comments pages are added, it is a good way for students to take feedback home to show their parents.
If the school is one that is diverse, with pupils originating from all around the world, then having pages in different languages, such as Urdu or Spanish for example can be a good way to gain an understanding of the schools ethos if your English isnt yet up to scratch.
If you are reading this and identifying with the aforementioned, scatty teacher, or even asking yourself, when did school planners get so clever? Then it is time to ditch the in much need of some binding, dog-eared diary, and reconsider your organisation tools. Move from nineteen-ninety-late to the present!