I thought a bit about where I am driven at the moment--what direction am I headed in? Then I thought about why I am driven in that direction, essentially what propels me.
I have always been driven by doing a good job--I like the satisfaction that comes with that, and often to do a good job in teaching is not noteworthy, glitzy, or sensational in any way. In fact, often to do a good job in teaching involves a lot of rather routine work such as organizing the classroom, cleaning things up, putting papers in order, and reading, reviewing, and carrying out lots and lots of details that make a difference. Yet if we complete those tiresome tasks, we typically do a better job for each and every child.
So at this point in my teaching/learning path, most of the big work that needs to be done is the detailed work that makes a classroom successful including the conversations with students, classroom organization, lesson review, following the steps to getting important tasks done, and optimizing energy to do the job well. To do this well in the next few months will spell a successful year.
