I am not a planner...

   I have another confession to make: I am probably one of the most unorganized people in the School of Ed.  Just last week I finally bought all of my binders and folders I needed for my classes.  Up until that point I had one notebook and one binder for everything.  Papers were everywhere.  It really was a disaster.  I still don't have a planner for this year.  Even worse, when I do have a planner I never use it.  I usually end up writing things in after I have done them just so it looks like I use it.  Pathetic, I know.
   Using a planner is just not the way I am wired.  I keep things pretty well organized in my mind, but I also hate having a scheduled planned out that I feel like I have to stick to.  I am a very "fly by the seat of my pants" type of person.  A huge part of the excitement of life is not knowing what is coming next.  I was a counselor at an overnight camp this summer.  I was the counselor that never wore a watch; I started off with a Dora the Explorer watch, but she drowned in the pool on the first day of camp (I took that as a sign that I didn't really need one).  My cabin was always that last ones to arrive to different events, and I was always the last one to turn my lights out at night.  My campers would ask me what we were doing next and I would always tell them "It's a surprise!  You'll find out when we get there!"
   However, school is much different than camp.  Sometimes my laid-back personality scares me a little bit going into the field of teaching.  Often times, kids really need structure to help them focus, especially the littler ones.  I'm afraid I won't be able to provide them with the type of structure that they need.  How much structure do kids really need anyway?

An example of a tool I could use to help organize my classroom

   As I was reading through Crafting Writers by Elizabeth Hale, it really hit me how organized most teachers are and need to be.  I was so impressed how it mentioned how organized all of her conference sheets were and the template of a form to fill out after conferencing with your students.  Most teachers are already pressed for time, so you can't really afford to waste time looking for student papers and records.  It just helps things run more smoothly when there is organization.
   At the same time though, I think learning is pretty chaotic, and should be in some sense.  If you truly have a classroom that is student-centered, I think it probably will look a little bit crazy because students may be doing different things at the same time.  They will be discovering things through having experiences.  I think that I can use my free-spirit as a strength in the classroom.  I will be willing to adapt my plans to what my students need.  If we get off topic, but learning is occurring, I think that is ok.
    This isn't to say though that I shouldn't plan anything.  I know that it is something that I really need to work on.  I think I will have to find a good, loose organizational system that leaves room for my spontaneity, but still provides structure that students and myself need.