| A TEACHER’S TO
DO LIST:
Finish grading.- Throw away the used tissues all over your room.
- Finally publish the long-term writing projects.
- Students haven't mastered adjectives, so you revamp your
lesson plans.
- Eat a piece of chocolate!
- Call a parent about missing homework.
- Attend school improvement team meeting.
- Analyze student test scores….
Do you ever feel more like a rat in a maze than a teacher?
Think about it. A hungry rat is placed in a maze where it
smells food. Heading toward the odor of cheese, the rat encounters
an obstacle in its path and it has to change course. Other
obstacles appear and with each the rat changes direction.
Finally the cheese appears and it is gulped down! The rat
is momentarily satisfied, but tomorrow comes and the maze,
the obstacles and the quest for cheese return.
Does the rat ever wonder why it spends its life chasing cheese?
Does it ever set aside time to think about goals? Does the
rat ever consider looking over the maze walls to gain a new
point of view and setting a goal that is larger than the next
piece of cheese?
What if you changed your TO DO List to look like this:
- Spend an evening examining my teaching convictions.
- Develop SMART goals and resolutions.
- Check the cheesiness of my goals by asking myself some
focused questions.
The maze of teaching won’t be monotonous if you have
well defined, worthy goals. And you’ll be more likely
to succeed if your goals line up with what you value and your
convictions about education.
Don’t settle for cheese! Try using SMART Educational
Goals to guide your actions. SMART goals are:
Specific-
Describe your goal in precise terms so there is no confusion
as to what needs to be accomplished. Try answering the “W’s”:
Who, what, where, when, why. Example: A general goal would
be, “Communicate better with parents.” But a specific
goal would say, “Produce a weekly newsletter that includes
class news, volunteer requests, current topics of study, and
extension activity ideas.”
Measurable- Make
sure you include the measures you will use to judge your progress
towards achieving the goal. Example: “Instruction will
continue until 90% of the students have attained mastery of
this skill.”
Attainable-
Construct a goal that is achievable. Don’t set it so
high that in the back of your mind you know failure will eventually
happen. Example: An unreasonable goal is, “Use technology
with every lesson I teach”, but an attainable goal would
be, “Integrate technology into one lesson plan each
week.”
Relevant- Meaningful
goals align with your convictions and dreams. Your goal should
relate to attaining something that is necessary, of value
and that supports your educational vision. Example: A relevant
goal could be to, “Plan one weekly homework assignment
that increases family involvement and communication.”
Time-based- Determine
a date, timeframe, or schedule for your goal. Example: A vague
goal would be to, "Encourage my students to write more
often.” A time-based goal is to, "Set aside 15
minutes each day for journaling time.”
Checking the cheesiness of your goals involves being totally
honest with yourself. Reread and recommit to your goals frequently.
Another way to check the cheesiness of your goals is to ask
yourself the following questions, written by Laura Hess:
- "What will achieving this goal do for me? What is
the benefit? Why bother?"
- " Is this goal something I want or am I taking it
on for somebody else? Is it something you really want or
is it something you think you should do? Typically, a "should"
goal creates resistance because it's not your own."
- "Is this the right time for me to take on this goal?"
- "What do I need to move me forward? What resources
do you have available to you and where do you need additional
support?"
- "Who do I want to talk to about this goal? People
are great support for you. Choose your support system carefully
- you want people who are positive and nurturing. The more
you talk about your goal, the more real it becomes."
- "What is the one daily action step I'm willing to
take that will make the biggest difference to me in achieving
my goal?"
- "What blocks are in my way? There's usually something
in your way. Any block you identify will fall into one of
five broad categories: Lack of money. Lack of time. Negativity
(yours and other people's). Uncertainty. Lack of information.
All blocks can be removed.”
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