Why I Don’t Use a Timer to Track 2 Minutes
There are innumerable times teachers, parents, and other caregivers need to track (approximately) 2 minutes worth of time. Indeed, I suggest adults track 2 minutes for a wide variety of techniques. Only rarely do I suggest adults use a timer to keep track of 2 minutes. Here is why.
”2 minutes” is a Terrific Tool
Three of my most commonly-used “2-minute” procedures are the following:
- Transition warnings
- Sharing protocol
- “2-minute time-out”
Transition Warnings
Children need consistency like they need food and water, and transitions represent change. Change is inevitable and necessary, and to permit children to persist at any activity for as long as they like is not advisable. Not only would allowing kids to do what they want for as long as they like be untenable, but it would encourage rigidity or inflexibility. Transition warnings are a key means of honoring a child’s need for consistency while also teaching them that life must move on. Giving a 2-minute advance transition warning allows a child to mourn the loss of the current activity and prepare himself or herself for the next one. Even nonpreferred activities deserve advance transition warnings, and in my experience, I’ve found 2 minutes is just about right.
Sharing Protocol
Children love to share… Right? Okay, perhaps not. But we understand the value of sharing is enormous, so we teach children how. One way we can teach a child to share is to allow both the sharer and the recipient some control over a play situation. For example, Johnny is playing with a toy truck. Susan wants to use the truck, so she stomps over to Johnny and grabs at it. The teacher intervenes, gives the truck to Johnny and then says to Susan, “You can say, ‘My turn.’” Susan repeats, “My turn!” and the teacher turns and says to Johnny, “You can say, ‘OK,’ or ‘Two more minutes.’” In most cases, Johnny will say, “Two more minutes.” After approximately 2 minutes, the teacher says to Johnny, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1,” and removes the toy from Johnny and gives it to Susan.
”2-minute time-out”
The time-out is an old standby for many parents and teachers (and for me). I use a particular “2-minute time-out” procedure that ensures the time-out is not an arduous punishment, but represents an opportunity to interrupt whatever behavior was happening that earned the time-out from an activity, object, or other reinforcement.
Another way a 2-minute time-out can be used is for students who call out in class without raising their hands. The teacher can remind the student who interrupted, “Remember to raise your hand,” and then tell the student to wait 2 minutes before doing so. The time-out serves as a mild means of correcting the behavior (and ensuring it is not reinforced) and enables the child to get his or her needs met in an appropriate way (i.e., by following the rule!)
Why don’t I use a timer?
The main reason I don’t use a timer is that using a timer can allow students to manage my behavior.
A student might earn a 2-minute time-out after swiping his math book off his desk. During the time-out, the expectation is that he walk calmly to the designated area and refrain from kicking the wall, or throwing objects for the duration of the time-out. After 2 minutes of calm behavior, the adult will approach the child to problem-solve (which likely would begin something like, “Why did I give you a time-out?”
A child who is not yet ready to problem-solve, but is determined to frustrate the adult(s) in the room might wait until the adult’s timer goes off, and promptly throw something or kick the wall. The adult is then forced to reset the timer (which usually makes a beep sound) and start over again. This can create a “revolving door” problem whereby the child controls the situation. This is just the opposite of the purpose of a time-out. Indeed, the purpose of a time-out is to interrupt a pattern of behavior.
Rules of Thumb for Tracking 2 Minutes
2 minutes is longer than 1 minute, and shorter than 5 minutes.
Two minutes should feel like a substantial amount of time, but not so long that it seems interminable. Most adults can estimate one minute, and most adults can identify when 5 minutes or more have passed. Somewhere between those two guidelines is the “2-minute” marker.
Don’t get me wrong: even after years of practice, I still forget sometimes, and let a time-out or a waiting period last longer than 5, 6, 7, even 10 minutes. But when I do, I apologize. If the student had to stay in a time-out for much longer than 2 minutes, I will tell the student I am sorry and, depending on who it is, I’ll tell him or her to remind me the next time a time-out is earned and I will waive it.
2 minutes is just long enough to engage in another activity or give attention to another student.
Generally, 2 minutes enough time to focus on another student or activity, but not long enough to get wrapped-up in a conversation or a project that is difficult to pause. I can answer 2–3 student questions, walk around the room, make a few notes, check my calendar, or even make a quick phone call to see what’s on the lunch menu at the cafeteria in around 2 minutes.
2 minutes is as long as I say it is.
I once knew a man named Mike Nagy who had been a baseball umpire for over 30 years. He told me there are 3 types of umpires in baseball, and you can tell the difference between them by how they make a call. The first says, “I see it, and then I call it.” The second says, “I call it as I see it.” The third, Mike told me, says, “It’s nothin’ until I call it.”
Mike told me emphatically: “I’m the third kind. It’s nothin’ until I call it.”
Mike believed that unless an umpire’s call was set in stone – almost as though the history of the play is written as soon as the call is made – the game of baseball would be riddled with questionable calls.
Similarly, two minutes needn’t be measured on an Atomic clock. If your classroom were run by a clock, you would cease to be the teacher, and would become a slave to that clock. You’re better off allowing the 2-minute period to be somewhat variable. As long as you consistently remain within the “longer than 1 minute, less than 5 minutes” window, students will know you are the one in control – not them. Moreover, they will learn to trust that you keep your word, because they’ll learn that their time is valuable to you.
The next time you’re tempted to wield your Ultrak 360 Water Resistant 30 Lap Split-Memory stopwatch when you need to remember to do something in 2 minutes, try setting it down and doing it the old-fashioned way: in your head. You may find you enjoy the results.