At the start of the school year, I wrote a post with New (School) Year’s resolutions. They promise me that the school year is ending this week, so it seemed like a good time to reflect on my year.
- Keep up with this blog. If I ask my students to do it, then I should be too. Yes. In large part, this is thanks to COETAIL. I have really appreciated the experience of blogging. I don’t think I will be writing a post a week, but I have really loved building a community and reflecting about my teaching. The internet won’t be getting rid of me yet.
- Make my school blog better. Yes…with qualifications. My school blog is still me putting information out there. And I think it’s really good for that. It’s not a community. But I think I’m okay with that. The purpose of my school blog is to put information out there and it’s a useful and attractive space for that.
- Get an organization system (paper and computer) that works for me. Nope. Not even close. My googledocs are a mess. My desk is a mess. I must figure this out.
- Use computers (and technology) wisely. Yes. I’ve made mistakes, but I truly believe the advent of the Connected Learning Community at YIS and COETAIL has made me a better teacher and my classroom a better place. I hope I am always as thoughtful about how I use technology as I am now.
- Just because it worked before, doesn’t mean I need to do it again. And in conjunction with that, I hope I don’t reinvent the wheel for the sake of reinventing the wheel. I think this one was making sure I wasn’t bored with my teaching, but also didn’t overwhelm myself with work. I’m happy with the balance I hit.
- Get student work back faster. Same goal after 11 years. I’m a slow grader. I must be better! Nope. I have certain assignments that I can get back quickly. But on the whole, I still struggle with this. Next year, I promise!
- Decorate my classroom nicely and keep it neat. I’m happy with this one. I’m happy when I walk into my classroom. It looks good. Except my desk. That’s a disaster.
- Say “no” when I think I can’t contribute and “yes” when I think I can make a difference. This is regarding any and all voluntary committee-work. I am happy with almost everything I said yes to. I have so many opportunities to make a difference at my school and to try new things. Sometimes that just means a lot of meetings. But I can’t stress enough how grateful for all the opportunities, despite the craziness.
- Continue to develop my PLN and start to be more of a contributor than just a lurker. Another one I’m proud of myself for. I am really amazed that I know people via Twitter and then I get to meet them at conferences . Or even better, I get to go out for dinner with people who I usually have 140 character conversations with. And blogging has opened this door even more.
- Stay focused on the kids… It has been, and should forever remain, about my students. If my answer was anything but yes, I should leave teaching. But it remains about the students. They drive me nuts sometimes and every once in a while I think about running away to a place where they don’t allow adolescents. But I’m so lucky to do what I do. It’s so amazing to watch them grow as students. And they can make me laugh. So I’ll be back for one more year. And let’s see what happens next.
As I read this post, I recognized much about you that is in me. I struggle with most of what you struggle with as well. Everything except #9 sounds almost exactly like me, especially #6. Every year, I note this as one of my goals to attain. Every year I fall short, but I get a little better each year too. Thank you for articulating what I’ve been thinking about all year.