Realistic Goals

From the desk of Carol C…

Summer Goals:  clean out my closet, donate clothes to charity, clean out dresser drawers, come up with an organizational system for all of the “stuff” I have, wash the windows,  read 6 novels I’ve been meaning to read, throw out from under every sink in my house what I don’t need, plant and care for flowers, take several vacations, and enjoy down time with my family and friends.  These are my goals almost every summer, and every summer I fail to complete all but one maybe two.  I end up disappointed in myself.  Why do I set myself up for this when I know better through experience? 

 

Now it’s time for you to report back to work.  For most it means putting into place all of the ideas you came up with in July…the different procedures for students, additional teaching techniques, new programs, or organizational systems to name a few.  Changing how you teach and run your classroom helps you grow as a teacher and can make you more effective.  The problem comes when we overestimate what all we can successfully change at one time.

 

Here are some tried but true suggestions for overcoming setting your expectations for yourself too high.

 

1.  Decide what changes are going to give you, and therefore your students, the biggest bang for your buck.  One year my most important change was implementing well thought out classroom procedures I wanted my students to follow.  I had always had the attitude of “oh put your finished papers anywhere” or “I don’t know who is errand runner this week”.  I created my own mess.  By talking with other teachers who ran a smoother classroom than I did, I was able to implement procedures which worked in my classroom.  Thank goodness!  All was better for everyone in Room 222.

 

2.  Then choose one (maybe two) changes you’ll implement.  If you decided to implement math workshop, you’re taking on a huge change.  It’s enough in and of itself to warrant making no other changes.  I can remember clearly trying to implement reading, writing, and math workshops the same year.  What was I thinking?  Although they have common elements, it was too much to try to focus on three new areas at one time.  Needless to say I quit trying to implement two of the workshops and kept with just one.  It was a gracious plenty for me.

 

3.  As the year progresses implement other changes as you see fit though again one at a time.  Also, make sure the changes you make after school starts are not going to disrupt something you have already put in place.

 

4.  Once you decide on a change you’ll implement, make sure you are clear on what is expected of you.  Do you understand math workshop well enough to use it?  Will you need to do more homework on it first?  Do you have time to learn more?  Changing the way you teach something can be the hardest change.  It requires a deep understanding of how and why the new method works.  This takes time.  It can reap the biggest rewards though. 

 

5.  Understand who you are.  Do you make changes easily?  Are you the type who usually expects too much of yourself in all situations?  Do you worry too much about what others think you should do?  What are you beliefs about children and how they learn?  Being honest with yourself as you answer these questions will give you insight into how to set realistic expectations thereby increasing your effectiveness as a teacher.  I make changes pretty easily without much stress involved.  However, I do expect way too much of myself.  I know that but still seem to have trouble keeping my eye on the word “realistic”.  So I know to be successful I have to rein in what I think I can do (from running 10 errands in an hour to setting up a new curriculum).  Writing down what I want to accomplish and putting the amount of time each part will take is the most effective way for me to rule out ideas which cannot be accomplished in the given circumstance.  Do I always use this method?  No! but I am getting better at it.

 

6.  Get rid of your internal negative voice that reminds you of all you haven’t done.  Be your own best friend.  Every time you have a thought such as “Once again I didn’t get to all of the chores on my list”, replace it with “Hey I finished blah, blah, and blah.  That’s more than I had done to begin with!”  Sometimes this sounds hokey to me, but with practice it does work.  I think the psychological term is “reframe it”, so reframe those negative thoughts.

 

7.  Finally, to go along with #6, be kind to yourself.  You know you want to do what’s best for your students and be the most effective teacher you can be.  It follows then that your expectations are probably too high.  And what happens when you fail to meet them?  That negative voice comes back into play.  Never good.  Give yourself a break.  You deserve it.

Here’s to the best most stress free year yet!