Stapler: The stapler used to be one of the most important parts of my life as a teacher. Students would line up and attach their work to the rubric and drop them on my desk. Every assignment would have the shiny piece of metal in the upper left hand corner. Sadly, for the stapler, there is nothing to staple in my class anymore. In class writing still happens, but I encourage students to use the paper clips. The paper clip only has a few months left before retirement, so I’m trying to get the most out of them. At any given time, I would have 3 or 4 staplers floating around the room so students could assemble their work. The stapler has been good to me, but it’s time to part ways.
Hole puncher: The stapler was all about giving, but the hole puncher was about taking. For the assignments I would forget to hole punch at the copier, the hole puncher could be counted on to help the most organized of my students. Tirelessly popping out three little circles of paper was its only job and it did it well. I would like to say he will be missed, but that would be a lie. I like the extra desk space.
The Document Camera : This guy has gone the way of the overhead machine. With the iPad2 and the Apple TV, there is nothing the Document Camera brings to the table. He sits at my desk with his head hanging down in disgrace. His stationary existence just doesn’t fit in with this mobile world. He was the most popular kid in my class for a couple of years, but now he is just another obsolete tool. I’m sure I can find a home for DC. Hopefully.
File Folders of Student Work: The days of holding onto a student’s work in a folder in the room are long gone. A remnant of a bygone era, the file folder has sputtered out like an athlete that stayed one season too long. Dropbox has replaced physical file folders and allows for quick and easy sharing of information. The blog has also replaced the need for paper assignments that would go into the folders as well. With nothing to place in the folders, the folders have opted for retirement.
The Filing Cabinet : With its long time companion the file walking off into the sunset, the filing cabinet sits in the corner as an icon to a time in education where a person could hold all the valuable information they needed in one neat and organized location. It was ok that access was only available during set school hours and never over the summer. Times have changed and now the filing cabinet sits as an ancient relic occasionally used to store party supplies for the holidays.
Here are some tools that are not retiring, but are very close to announcing their retirement; email, scanners, textbooks, desktop computers, single student desk, and the classroom.
What has made the move to retirement in your room?
