Your Resolutions….
As we’re all finishing up our Winter break and making resolutions for the new year, I wonder if we’re all making the same ones as last year. Maybe we’re vowing to lose weight, spend more time with friends, or even save a little money. Don’t get me wrong, all of these resolutions are good, which is why they’re so common every year. However, the resolutions I’d really like to see you make are teaching resolutions.
Teaching resolutions are goals you set for your classroom, your students, and your career, and the commitments you’re making to reaching those goals. These may be little tweaks to a lesson plan, or a twist on the way you share that next piece of information, or they could be complete changes you make to your instruction, so you can end the school year on a high note and prevent burnout.
Here are 3 resolutions every teacher should have this (and every) year.
1. Take Care of Yourself:
Notice: I did NOT say ‘lose weight’. I said to take care of yourself. This means mentally as well. Commit to decreasing your workload with smarter planning, finding a better work and life balance, or simply taking a moment each week to reset and re-charge. Taking care of yourself is important to any profession but it becomes even more important when your students are counting on you. Taking care of YOU is integral to performing at your best.
2. Try Something New:
Trying something new is never easy. In fact, most teachers stray away from it whenever possible because they have put so much time and effort into making their classrooms as productive as possible. Trying new things can also disrupt systems and routines you have set.
If you haven’t tried anything new for a while, now is the perfect time. Maybe you could integrate a new tech tool or try letting your students take the lead with Mastery Learning . Making changes and trying new things is difficult, but trying something new is what saved my teaching career. Read a book, do some research, or take a free online course. Whatever you do, always strive to better yourself and your instruction.
3. Reach More Students:
This should always be on your list, not only for New Years, but every day you walk into your classroom. Reaching more students should be the ultimate goal of any educator. There are lots of ways to do this, but the best way I’ve found is allowing students to work at their own pace with a Mastery Learning System. Whether you use Mastery Learning, PBL’s, or another teaching strategy, always remember that reaching one more student can change everything for them.
Never give up, and never stop striving for better!
So clean up the confetti, write down your resolutions, and set some goals for yourself. If you need any help or support you can reach out anytime!
Let’s make 2017 awesome! Let’s make it the year you take your teaching, your impact, and your career to the next level.
