For educators, September (just like January) is filled with ambitions and resolutions. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, but your school improvement plan, student learning objective (SLO), professional practice goal (PPG), and maybe even your professional development plan (PDP) are resolutions. They might be more data-based and involve more documentation than your New Years resolutions, but they, too, are resolutions.
How are all of those school year resolutions connected?
What concept unites your professional goals and work?
What single word would you use to summarize that connection?
Now, think about all the ways that single word could become a mantra for you as you work toward your goals. Write it on a piece of paper. Doodle it. Hang it in your work space. Look for it around you. Tell people about it. Keep it near you.
This idea - single word goal setting - is popular in January, as people set resolutions for the year (read more about it from Ali Edwards, My One Word, or One Word 365). It works now, though, too.
Understand is the word that stands out for me in my professional life right now. It seems to be something that unites many things long-term projects.
- I'm always learning about and trying to better apply culturally responsive practices. Really understanding people - who they are, where they come from, what they want and need - is a big part of culturally responsive practice.
- I'm working on a project which will grow into the literature review for my dissertation. That's all about understanding.
- In conversations and meetings and emails and phone calls, I don't always take time to understand. Sometimes I want to help. Sometimes I want to move on to the next thing. I would benefit from just listening with no purpose other than to understand.
What's your word?
Preserverence
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