It’s wish list season, what was on yours? Or better yet, what should be on yours?
I find myself clicking on other teachers’ Amazon wish lists and copying ideas for my own wish list– that’s a nice wireless mouse on one, some battery-operated gaming buzzers from another, and so on.
And if you are lucky enough to have a supply budget, maybe you have a wish list that could be fulfilled.
Let’s talk about priorities.
In a world before Amazon wish lists, I kept an Excel spreadsheet with “Must Haves,” “Would Be Nice” and “Don’t Hold Your Breath” items my classroom needed. It’s a great place to start to see how far the budget can stretch or if a “Would Be Nice” is a possibility.
Here’s a few ideas from my current wish list to help you when creating your own:
Furniture:
Most buildings supply a teacher space, storage, student desks, etc. But do those reflect modern educational or professional journalistic office trends? Journalists and creatives do not work in a chair/desk combo arranged in neat rows. They interview on couches around a coffee table, write at café tables, and design from bean bags and gaming chairs. When making your Wish List, make a plan for how to replace certain aspects of a typical classroom over time. Or, if are you lucky enough to fund a full furniture update at once, go for it.
Last year, my photojournalism enrollment was down, so I picked up a couple sections of fine art photography. According to the art teachers, I needed more studio props, more still life materials, etc. Once I’d gathered those from my garage sale pile, friends’ castoffs, etc., I needed a way to store all those materials. This is where my friend, the custodian helped. My mother, a retired teacher, will tell you that custodial staff are the most powerful people in the building – she’s not wrong. Talk to them about your need(s). They are the first to know when that teacher three halls down tosses a small cabinet out. Thankfully, I didn’t have to put what I needed on an Amazon Wish List thanks to our custodial staff pointing the way toward an unwanted item.
This year, I’m on a hunt for a small organizer to slide under a U-shaped conference table. I found a couple of candidates.
Mood lighting – Some of our younger teacher’s classrooms look like dorm rooms with floor lamps and bean bags or floor cushions – students love them. Consider alternative lighting to the bright overheads – students often talk about how comfortable they feel working in those classrooms.
Wall décor:
For me, walls are a great place to celebrate accomplishments with plaques or certificates staffs have earned, to share summer workshop fliers or college advertising, current work, and drafts of yearbook spreads. I am not a fan of the historic “hang in there” cat poster. Walls should be workspaces.
I’ve really enjoyed being able to move around peel-and-stick calendars, white boards, and other dry erase organizational tools. Over the years, we’ve had calendars of upcoming events, lists of who is working which video package, random dots with notes from an editor, and more. Choosing which items we use each year and if we need new ones is the summer homework for an editor-in-chief or producer. It’s their job to choose the method they think they can keep updated for their staff to work to maximum potential.
A couple years ago, we added peel-and-stick mirror tiles to an unused wall in the broadcast studio so anchors can check themselves before going on air.
Creature comforts:
Like the psychologists say, “humans cannot function without their basic needs being met first.”
I cannot think or work when I’m hungry – I assume most students are the same. I cannot bear to have hungry students in my classroom. My desk is always stocked with cups of soup and chocolate chip granola bars. If I hear a student talk about how they missed breakfast or forgot their lunch money, one of those items will appear on their desk the next round I make through the room. I’ve never received anything other than a grateful look or quiet thank you.
Load your desk with snacks for the day you forget your lunch or really need a sugar rush to make it through the last block of freshmen.
Technology:
It goes without saying 21st century education and reporting relies on computers, iPads, cell phones, cameras, etc. So those items always top the “Must Haves” section of the Wish List.
This year, I’m adding a wireless phone charger for the reporter who forgot to charge their phone last night and more rechargeable batteries to my wish list. Last year, students forgetting chargers and forgetting to recharge caused delays.
Consider the times students leave the classroom as well. We often travel for competitions, it wasn’t until we left our room of outlets that we realized our gear needed recharging during a weekend-long competition. Now we take our own surge-protected power strips. And since more kids are filming on their phones, portable chargers made my list.
In the “Would Be Nice” category, I have extra accessories like memory cards, card readers, or UV filters – smaller items that when lost or stolen would put gear out of commission. It’s nice to have a few of each waiting in the closet to return gear to operational status asap.
Team building:
All work and no play is no way to run a modern office or newsroom. Consider adding word games such as Bananagrams, Wordle’s party game, Quiddler, or debating games like Superfight, or a conversation starter deck of cards.
As you plan ice breakers and other team building games, add those materials to your wish list, too. Add a few shower curtains for a Flip the Island game, or I’ve had a second tarp game and a run mat on my “Don’t Hold Your Breath” list for years.
Places to find inspiration:
Visit other classrooms – no matter the subject area. Journalism pulls skill sets from a lot of disciplines including graphic arts, photography, English, social studies, and technology – our classrooms should reflect that too.
JEA Digital has a series where teachers across the country have shared images and written about their classrooms. It’s virtually visiting dozens of classrooms, some from schools bigger than yours, or better funded or teacher-funded – there’s ideas in each of them worth incorporating into your space.
Keep your eyes open for deals to help fund the wish lists. Some communities or organizations have teacher grants or awards or school supply nights for teachers to “shop for free.” Amazon wish lists are often matched or promoted within other communities wishing to support their teachers. Plus, Target has its 20% off one purchase for teachers running each July and August. Join the B&H Photo B2B account for education discounts. Other retailers support your wish list as well. Social media is a great place to find those options.
At the end of your wishing, remember your classroom should be a functional, welcoming, professional educational spaces – you know what your students and your program need. Wish away!
Disclaimer: Most of these items are still on my wish list, so I have no idea if they are great or not. No endorsements here ;).