For the first time in my ten years of teaching, I’m incorporating goal-setting as part of my curriculum. So I did a mini-lesson on the purpose of goals, and told my students they needed to set a goal–either personal, social, academic, or extra-curricular.
Surprisingly, I was not met with any resistance. Every student set a goal. Some even agreed to post them on the bulletin board.
We’ll be checking up on our goals about every three weeks to make sure the goal is still doable and that we’re making progress. I’m encouraged by how many students set academic goals of maintaining good grades.
“Good” is different to each student, but unlike past classes, no one appears willing to settle for barely passing.
I’m hesitant to be so optimistic after four days, but I’m not the only teacher who has been surprised at how the year has started. The potential is there for a really great school year. Here’s hoping…
