Welcome Back Goals

Welcome (back) to a great school year!  

Before the meetings, trainings, and To Do lists really kick in, Take a quiet moment of goal setting.

What do you want to do this year to improve yourself, your classroom, your management, your instruction, or your whatever?

If I can be so bold I’d like to suggest that you write it down. Like on a sticky note somewhere where you will come across it, but where it doesn’t have to be common knowledge.

Those of you who know me, know that I think of this time of year as time for New (school) Year Resolutions.

Take a minute, think about a goal or two for the year. If you don’t have any great ideas, here are some common New (school) Year Goals:

• Maybe you want to keep your classroom better organized.
• Maybe you want to cut down on small classroom management issues before they escalate into big issues.
• Maybe you want to test out some standards-based grading
• Maybe you want to improve and increase your content knowledge.
• Maybe you want to be conscious of having kids do more higher level thinking each day.
• Maybe you want to collaborate with your colleagues more (in school or across schools)
• Maybe you want to be more successful at motivating kids who are struggling to care about your class.
• Maybe you want to get better at differentiating (both for strugglers and for high-achievers).
• Maybe you want to do less grading but give more feedback
• Maybe you want to me more conscious of being culturally relevant.
• Maybe you just want to survive your first year with as few cringe-worthy moments as  possible.

Maybe you have another goal?  That’s okay too.

Think about your goals and then think about what you can do to work toward them. Do you need materials? PD? Help from colleagues? A brainstorming session with a buddy? Some master-teaching practices from a colleagues?

Ponder your goal and what you need to do to make it happen. How are you going to raise the bar on your own successes from last year and be EVEN MORE AWESOME???

I KNOW that all of your meetings and trainings (especially mine!) are going to be so fascinating and riveting that you won’t have time to daydream -- but IF you do, write down your goals and your materials and needs and maybe some steps to make it happen.

By Monday, you won’t have time to think straight. So ponder your goals now and put them in writing for yourself. Then, make them happen

What are your goals for this year? I love to hear! Email me at newmantr@pcsb.org

-Tracy