The Big Goal

This week I had the opportunity to finally sit down with the PTP committee. It was great to get in a room full of people who want to enhance how we use technology here at MHS. As excited as I was to dive in, I also have some reservations. My biggest reservation comes with goals--which seems intuitive with what I do for a living. I understand that goals are important. Goals enable us to take meaningful action that will get us where we want to be. Without goals we would go into the classroom daily without a big picture in mind. We would aimlessly teach ideas and concepts that students may or may not need to know. We would also push for progress without actually knowing if we're on the right track.

When I was a first year teaching, I had to make "Big Goals" for my classroom. This was a big part of Teach For America (the program I was hired with). There were required components for a Big Goal. It had to be ambitious, but achievable. The goal was also something that would make a meaningful difference in the lives of students. After my two year commitment with Teach For America, Big Goals became less prominent for my classroom. I could talk about our goals and what we wanted to achieve, but it wasn't always highlighted. I found that I was invested in this magic number or idea, but students weren't. Here at Mooresville, I think I've continued that slip. Sure, my AP students all know that they want a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, but I haven't engrained that as a class mantra that will dictated all of our behavior. I also haven't established how a 4 or 5 can really impact a student. They know about college credit, but I don't know if they truly appreciate how the understanding the concepts of Language and Composition can really enable them to be critical thinkers.

I'm thinking that I could really establish a goal in the second semester for my AP students and my 9th graders. But before I can do that, I have to reinvest myself in the concept of a goal. This PTP process gives me that opportunity. I need to claim my goals for my own and not lose sight of them over the course of the next two months. While I know these are year-long goals, I want to push myself to achieve some of the goals asap. This is achievable with assistance from my cohort (and my lovely husband who can always help with my technology needs). I also know that my goals are meaningful. If I can include technology that allows students to access meaningful activities that are differentiated, they can continue their instruction while I am away on maternity leave. This has to push me to try as hard as I can to achieve my goals asap.