Many students struggle with time management and planning, which can hinder their ability to overcome bigger obstacles, not only in high school but also in life. One of the biggest life lessons students can learn at a young age is planning. Bigger projects can be daunting and hard to push through in times of stress and struggle. When students fall behind, it can be challenging to regain the motivation to catch up. Many teachers at Gretna High School are also coaches, parents and educators. Two of those teachers are the leads of the Spanish department, Amy Muhs and Rachel Twist.
Twist is a mother of three young kids and the head girls soccer coach of GHS. She also leads the National Spanish Honors Society and is on the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) team. She is a role model to many in and out of school.
“I wake up early and go to bed early, so I wake up and I work out before school and get ready here (GHS),” Twist said.
Twist is the head of the foreign language department at GHS. She teaches Spanish IV and III all day and gets off at 3:50. She usually spends the evening running her kids to all their activities and then gets them off to bed.
“My youngest is in kindergarten, and she still needs help with her bedtime routine,” Twist said. “Then once I get my kids in bed, I go to bed.”
Muhs is a Spanish teacher as well and also has three kids. She is also a comfort place for a lot of kids inside and outside of GHS.
“I like to wake at 4 a.m., and I like to get a little laundry in at home,” Muhs said. “Maybe unload or load the dishwasher. I also like to be at school as early as possible, 6:30 is my goal.”
After the day, Muhs stays at the school until five, until she has to pick up her daughter at 5:30 from Kids Connection. After that, she goes home and finishes some more school work, then heads to bed.
With both of their busy schedules, they stay ahead of themselves by having a calendar and notes to keep them on track during the day.
“I use hopes and prayers to keep me going,” Twist said. “But also writing stuff down helps too.”
Muhs said she likes to keep sticky notes all over her desk, and Twist loves to have a to-do list to keep her on track. They both also have all their lesson plans planned out and have every day planned out from last year. Twist and Muhs said they are morning people and love to be up early. The two also mentioned it’s important for students to have time for themselves outside of school to do things they love and enjoy.
“Just having quiet time to myself just to get ready is nice, and, in the evening, we try our best to have dinner as a family,” Twist said. “We also do highs and lows of our day to still squeeze in some family time as well.”
Learning Spanish can be a struggle for some students, as can school. Muhs and Twist both said they have a unique way of keeping the stress level down in their department. They don’t allow themselves to assign homework to students.
“If I plan something and it goes totally wrong and we start to realize this is taking way more time than we thought it would, or it is harder than we thought or it’s proving more work than we thought, we have an honest conversation such as ‘we really need 10 to15 more minutes tomorrow or is there something we can change to make this work,’” Twist said.
So when students are overwhelmed, the biggest recommendation the two teachers give them is to plan everything out. Both of these teachers had different opinions on how to divide and conquer bigger problems.
“I love a good checklist, even if things are already done, and I think our brains like checklists…I think your brain gets a reward, like you did accomplish it,” Twist said.
Twist also mentioned having things that keep her rewarded and on track. One example she said she likes is to go into the hall during passing periods, since her room is tucked into a little corner in the pod. By having this reward, she can ensure that everything gets done, allowing her to interact with all the students and other teachers as a brain break during her days.
“Just do it, start by chopping away at little pieces until it gets done,” Muhs said.
Muhs said she believes that you should just start with everything until it gets done, because there is no better way to accomplish something than simply doing it.
Both maintain several key aspects to support their careers and prevent them from falling behind as educators and mothers. The only thing that can hold them together is each other, which is why it can be important in life to have people who can keep you accountable and on task.
“Manage your time based on things you believe are important and put in the work so you have time for everything,” Twist said.
