Restart the New Year: Goal Setting and Beyond

 Happy new year to all! This seems to be a perfect time to reflect on the second half of academic year coming up. Many people are making resolutions, and while this may seem like an antiquated idea, it's actually something I look forward to as a teacher. Although our "year" begins somewhere between August/September and ends sometime in May/June, we are lucky as teachers that we get to have two times where we can hit the restart button. Not many professions have that possibility. 

Every year we get a fresh start with a new group of students. We get to clean and decorate our classrooms, start with a fresh planner, and get handed a clean slate. In January, we have the opportunity to assess how it's going, make informed decisions, and adjust as needed. 

Personally, I like to take the time to look at a few areas in particular: family communication, lesson plans, and personal teacher exploration. 

Family Communication- January is a great time to review students' progress. I find it beneficial to take notes, and invite families to an additional round of conferences. Knowing the last time formal conferences were held was mid-October and the next round is late February, this leaves a lot of room for growth in between. Students who are struggling might need additional support, resources, or practice. Students who are thriving might need challenge activities, and adjustments to their practice to continue scaffolding. Especially during the new learning environments we are all experiencing, this is a perfect time to catch up with families and make changes to the course of learning as needed. *Later this month I will be hosting a webinar on this topic. Stay tuned, check out my social media, and inquire with any questions for the 1/11/21 session!* 

Lesson Plans- I know what you might be thinking. "Really, again? I do this all the time!" Yes we do. Firstly, after a long break I always review my plans to see where we left off and what I need to prepare for. That's a given! What I mean by restarting with lesson planning is to think about the many things we often say "I'd like to try that!" Keep it simple and select just one thing to try and work on more, incorporate into a lesson, or explore. For me this year I will be working on creating more Kahoots, Boom Cards, and Jamboard templates for my lessons. The new year is a perfect time to give yourself the "teacher push" we know we are capable of for others to try something new. This does not have to be tech-based either. Look to see where you can differentiate a lesson more, offer more modifications for students who need it, and think about students who might be progressing and need more challenging work. 

Personal Teacher Exploration- While this could also reflect on exploring programs to use in the classroom, I always think each new year about the different organizations I belong to, podcasts I've admittedly skipped over since the summer, and the many different websites and social media opportunities that exist I don't participate in. Remember this: We ARE professionals! It's vital to our lifeline as teachers to keep educating ourselves, networking/growing our PLNs, and keeping informed about the profession. I personally feel there is a large gap between research and application in the classroom (and I recall hearing this from a researcher on a podcast from Teach Me, Teacher this summer.) We need to stay relevant and fresh. Set a goal to read an article or two every month, try networking on social media, attend a webinar from one of your favorite professional organizations, or, maybe join one! We owe this to ourselves as educators. The new year paves the way for this journey. 

What will some of your professional goals be this year? I discussed my "big three" so now it's your turn. Even if you do not choose to focus on one I suggested here, we all have a goal we want to accomplish. Let's remember this for final thoughts today... 

Keep it simple, keep the focus, keep believing in yourself as an educator, keep setting a goal, keep working for it, and keep up your confidence; you can accomplish anything! In order to have our students believe that, we need to live that!