During this very important time, I would like to offer a simple idea that I hope will help to focus your efforts. I recently read an article from Lead Literacy that suggested teachers write a “postcard” to themselves that could be revisited midway through the year and then again at the end of the school year. On the postcard, teachers would answer two simple but guiding questions:
Given my current reality, where do I want to be by the end of the year?
How might I get there?
Upon closer review, these two seemingly simple questions have the potential to shape our professional goals with an action plan to implement. Writing a response on a postcard (or even a post-it or in a notebook) and keeping our goals visible throughout the year, could be a powerful motivator and keep us focused on what really matters. After all, isn’t this what we ask of our students when setting academic goals? Imagine the weight of our students knowing that goal setting is not just part of “doing school” but actually something that successful people do in the real world. I will certainly give this a try as I look to the year ahead and I invite you to join me!