I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. I feel like each year I just try to be better than the year before. I don't set any specific goals, because if I am being honest, most of the time by March or April I've given myself new things I want to work on, or just have completely forgotten.
I am constantly trying to become a better teacher though. At the end of the each unit I make notes on what could go better, I don't think I have ever taught the same exact unit twice. Each year I think to myself, "hey I'm a pretty good teacher, or this was pretty good", but then the next year I look back and think, "no, NOW I'm a good teacher, this is pretty good."
So instead of waiting for the new school year to think about ways I want to improve, I thought it would be good to combine new year resolutions with teaching resolutions. I could feel myself starting to get into a slump this year, and I need to rediscover my joy in teaching (disclaimer: this doesn't mean things have been awful this year. This is actually probably one of my best teaching quality years, and I have some wonderful kids I have had great times with, but just seems to be some tougher classes and some slumps).
I wanted to keep the list short, because these are things that I think are truly important, and I don't want them to fall to the side because they were so detailed or so many.
Here are Ms. Applegate-Brummel's 2016 Teaching Goals:
1. Cell Phone
2. Staying in the moment
3. Laugh
4. Recommend Books
It should come as no surprise to anyone that I LOVE reading. I can get so caught up in a book that I want to do nothing but read that book. Of course as an English teacher I want my kids to also love reading. I do everything I can in my lessons to not have kids hate reading. Studies show much kids start having negative association with reading because of high school reading. So not only do I need to be actively find ways for kids to enjoy reading, but one thing I really need to work on is recommending books to students. I read for my own personal enjoyment. For every book I read, I need to read a book that maybe wouldn't be my first pick, but would be for a student. When I read a book, I need to think of students to recommend that book to. I also need to be physically putting books in kids' hands. So if that means I have to go outside of my comfort zone and try to do some fundraising to increase my classroom library, I need to. If kids see not only passion for reading, but actually get a book put into their hands that I say they will love, maybe I can get a kid who "hated" reading, to actually enjoy it
5. Better Feedback
I've really gotten into some standards based grading conversations and thoughts. That is something that could be a whole different blog topic. With that though, I need to start being conscience about WHY I am assigning the work to the students, and then giving them feedback that is not just a score. I get busy, I want to check things fast, so I just fly through and give them a score. What are they learning from that? If they didn't get 100%, they need to know WHY. If they did do great, they need to know WHY. So if that means I give less work, but the work they get is more meaningful, and they get more meaningful feedback, I think that is a good direction to be moving in
6. Relationships
I love my kids, I really do. And yes, I call them "my" kids. It does feel like that when you are with them every day, bad days, good days, and all in between. Again, I find myself getting busy though, and not investing in the relationships as much. Everyday, at least once, I need to ask a student about something that is not school related. I need to strive for the 1:3 positive reinforcement theory. (for every negative interaction have 3 positives, with the same student). Yes, that seems exhausting, especially in English 9 sometimes, but it is the positive interactions that build relationships. I'm in this profession because I love the kids, so overall, even when I'm stressed, or feel busy, it needs to come back to the relationships and building those connections
Peace, Love
Ms. A :)