Skip Navigation
We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, provide ads, analyze site traffic, and personalize content. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies.
Advice

Lessons à La Cart: Teaching Without a Classroom

Floating teachers have to be extremely organized. Learn their secrets to staying efficient and traveling light.
Published: June 19, 2020

Many teachers are already in their classrooms preparing for the school day well before the bell rings—writing assignments on the whiteboard, setting up the projector for the day’s lessons, or simply taking a few, quiet moments at their desk to catch up on paperwork. But some teachers lack these luxuries. Without a room to call their own, they share classrooms with teachers and change locations as frequently as their students, teaching instead from their trusty cart. These teachers are known as floating—or mobile—teachers.

Despite the struggles of being on the go, however, being a mobile teacher does have its benefits, the biggest of which is developing superior organizational skills that are useful whether you’re teaching from a cart or from your own room.

Are you an affiliate?

Jump to updates, opportunities, and resources for NEA state and local affiliates.
Student looking through microscope

Opportunity Is Here

Do students and educators at your school have everything they need? Use our short checklist to see what your students deserve and where your school can grow.
National Education Association

Great public schools for every student

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.