Want to work less and be an effective teacher?
Learn how to reduce your workload and improve your teaching. Work Less, Teach More: How to be an effective teacher and live a life you love.
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Hey!
I’m Dan Jackson, a teacher from Sydney, Australia, and the author of Work Less, teach More: How to be an effective teacher and live a life you love. Thanks for stopping by!
You might know me as the founder of TeachersPD or the host of the Effective Teaching podcast.
But I’m also a passionate educator supporting teachers around the world in their endeavours to be effective teachers.
It all began in 2006
I'll never forget my first teaching job. I made some great friendships with the teachers I worked with and fell in love with the students I was teaching.
While I wasn't keen on teaching when I started by the end of my first year I knew why people saw it as a calling.
Teaching is in my blood. My grandmother was a teacher, both my parents were teachers, and all three of my siblings are now teachers. I knew going into the job just how much work it was, but I didn't know how rewarding a career it would be.
From quitting to effective teaching
In 2015 I was burnt out and quit teaching halfway through the year. I felt like a victim of the system
I took 6-months off from teaching, hung out with my son who was 2 at the time and supported my wife as she traveled the country working on a national project.
During these 6-months I began my very first business and everything began to change.
In business there are soo many resources and I learnt very quickly how to be effective in my business. Focusing on the important tasks and leveraging my resources.
When I returned to teaching in 2016, I was determined to apply this to my teaching and became an effective teacher. now not only was I working less hours, I was better at my job and managed to get promoted to deputy (aka vice) principal.
What is an effective teacher?
A teacher who:
- Knows where they want to go and the most important actions to get there.
- Prioritises their work each day in relation to who they want to be and the impact they want to make.
- Challenges assumptions and focuses on the elements of teaching that matter the most.
- Is dedicated to their students' success in life.
- Has balance in life between productivity and personal care.
- Leverages the 80/20 rule to increase their impact without wasting their time.
- Challenges the system to focus on what is best for student learning and teacher long-term careers.
- Supports and encourages those around them to increase their effectiveness.
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