I usually try to avoid setting goals for the new year because it seems pretty silly. If I'm not doing something to improve myself already then why should the start of a new year be any different? To me, the new year usually just marks the beginning of another nine-month period in which I'll mislabel the date on everything I do.
But this new year is actually different because I have started a new stage in my life. In the past week, I've been reflecting on what has happened during the past few months of my burgeoning career as a teacher. Now I know that I just used a synonym for "flourishing" to describe my trajectory but that doesn't mean I'm happy with where I am as an educator.
Some things have gone very well. But there is always room for improvement. And some things have absolutely blown up in my face. So there is an obvious need for change. And other things have failed but left me with a sense of promise. So there are a lot of opportunities for refinement.
Overall, I think that I've done okay but okay will never be good enough for me. I want to be better because I know I can be great. I want to realize whatever potential it is that administrators keep referring to whenever I get in trouble. I want to do something meaningful but right now I'm not sure that I am.
As a result, there are a few goals I have set for myself and the timing of this evaluation just happens to coincide with that time of year in which a significant chunk of the American people pledge to get a little less chunky. So my New Year's Resolutions are:
1. Reorient my teaching and myself toward the needs of my students.
2. Establish myself as a professional on every level.
3. Try just a little bit harder to be an adult (only a little bit).
4. Remain confident in who I am and what I'm capable of doing.
It is worth mentioning that I do recognize that these are very broad goals. The more specific sub-goals are detailed in one of my trusty little notebooks along with the doodles measuring the awesomeness of me with bat wings compared to me with bird wings. That's just how I roll.
Working with this blog falls under all of the goals I just listed. Let's hope that I can stick with this project longer than half the population does to their goal of comfortably wearing skinny jeans.
