Tuesday, August 23, 2016

2016-2017 School Year Committments

As my husband and I spoke about house renovations, he said, "You're repeating yourself, it's the same words." (I can hear my colleagues smiling and nodding in the background.).

I responded, "No, it's a spiral, I'm edging you towards change."

It's the same with my blog and school-speak, the repetition, though laborious at times, is truly edging me towards change. It's so easy with our human brains to resort to what's known and comfortable, rather than what's new and potentially better. To change, we have to continually remind ourselves with words and actions or else we won't get there.

So today, once again, I'm reminding myself of the changes I want to embed as I start the new school year. Changes that include the following:

  • More lunches (or cogens as Emdin supports) with students.
  • More effort to co-construct the classroom, routines, and learning with students.
  • Continued collegial and family outreach via newsletters, meetings, and collaboration.
  • Continued daily learning and student as well as embedding that learning into the daily teaching/learning.
  • Greater cultural proficiency beginning with efforts to foster greater understanding, dialogue, and integration with students' interests, environments, families, friends, and needs. 
  • Greater focus on feedback by instituting a new weekly feedback routine.
  • Hyperfocus on math and STEAM teaching.
  • Focus on optimal communication and advocacy via my work as a union board member, state/national union member, and DESE TAC member.