New Goals for a New School Year

http://learnthat.com/2005/06/employee-goal-performance-planning/
The summer is quickly winding down, so that means that it is time to start thinking about the upcoming school year.  I have spent a lot of my summer vacation reflecting on this past school year.  Last year was a big year for me.  I took on a lot of new responsibilities with professional development and started to implement Web 2.0 tools into my lessons for the first time.  While I am proud of what I accomplished last year, I know that I still have plenty of room for growth.  With that being said, here are my goals for the 2011 - 2012 school year.

1.  Make a personal connection with every student in my classroom.

I think that making connections is half the battle in education.  I can always tell which students or classes I have a strong rapport with because they care more about me and my class, and they try harder and learn more because of it.  If I am able to make a connection with every student who walks through my door, learning will take care of itself.


2.  Help at least one colleague solve a problem or learn something new every week.

I want to be a resource not only to my students but to my colleagues as well.  I hope to help them integrate technology into their lessons, offer both formal and informal professional development opportunities, and give whatever other assistance I can to help my colleagues in their journeys to be life-long learners and the best educators they can be.

3.  Use Twitter to its fullest potential.

It's no secret that Twitter is a great tool for personal and professional growth.  I want to introduce my students to the power of Twitter, get the most out of Twitter chats, and show my colleagues the power of using Twitter to establish a virtual PLN.

4.  Increase stakeholder involvement. 

Stakeholder involvement is key to student and school success.  I want to involve a as many stakeholders as possible in the learning process this year including parents, administrators,  school support staff and community members.

5.  Be a better educator than I was last year. 

If educators are not always trying to grow and evolve as their profession grows, what business do we have to expect intellectual and emotional growth from our students?  Every day, week, month, and school year, I hope to be a better educator than I was the day, week, month, and year before.  Growing, evolving, and trying new things in the classroom shows my students that learning isn't something that stops after they leave school; they will need to continue to grow and reinvent themselves regularly to keep up with the ever-changing society of which they are a part. 

I plan to blog about my progress with achieving my goals for this school year and share both my successes and failures along the way.  Please join me on my journey to be a better educator by sharing your goals for the upcoming school year in the comments below. 

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