TM4T Lifestyle 1.2.1 - Binary Decisions

Many teachers seek clarity in their working lifes and tend to over-rely on binary decisions,  either creating binary decision-points, or regarding situation as binary decision points.

Rethinking this can help you to avoid stress.

A binary decision is one with only two outcomes: YES-NO, ON-OFF, BLACK-WHITE.

In a teaching or work context, binary decisions might include:

• to do a task or not to do it

• to do something well or not to do it at all

• to do things by the book or go your own way

In fact, none of these decisions are really binary: there are a million midway points between doing something and not doing it at all; likewise an infinite number of steps between doing something well and doing it poorly, between 'the book' and 'my way'.

It is important to realise that you - as a teacher - always have more choices, and more control than you realise. TM4T emphasizes efficiency, and offers illustrations of quick and effective ways to carry out everyday teacher-tasks. These are not techniques which should be used invariably and persistently - the intention is that you vary your way of working - you choose your way of working, depending on circumstances.  There is always a way to do something quicker, and there is always a way to do something more thoroughly. What you, the teacher, need to do is to select the most appropriate way of working in each circumstance.  You should, though, have a defaut - efficient - way of working which you can instincitively deploy when times are busy.