Never Do Twice What You Can Do Once

Teachers are very good at creating things. Worksheets. Quizzes. PowerPoints. Letters. Revision sheets. Spreadsheets. Then, six months later, they create them again.

Am I solving a problem that has already been solved?

Before starting from scratch, look around. Could an old resource be adapted? Has somebody already made one? Could a good template do most of the work? The aim is not to reuse rubbish forever. It is to stop treating every lesson, letter and worksheet as a completely new invention.

What could I create once and use again?

A strong quiz can be edited. A good explanation can be saved. A useful template can serve a whole department. If five teachers need the same thing, perhaps five teachers should not make it separately.

What would the Lazy Teacher do?

Probably not spend Tuesday evening creating a beautiful new worksheet before discovering an almost identical one called “FINAL FINAL REALLY FINAL 3” on the shared drive. Create good things. Keep them. Share them. Improve them. Then avoid doing the same job twice.