Defining Your Vision for the Start of School

 I’m going to suggest that you do something in the next few days that you don’t have time for but that will make a huge positive difference for your school year.

I realize that the first day is looming around the corner. Your to-do list keeps getting longer. You’ve been professionally developed and have watched your required e-learning updates about school safety, sexual harassment, and ethical behavior. Some of you have decorated your classrooms with this year’s hottest Pinterest-approved styles while others are still awaiting the go-ahead to unpack boxes after the summer’s renovation. There are IEPs to gather and digest, seating charts to create, Google Classrooms to set up, and curriculum documents to study. The campus Xerox machine is working 24/7 (or, perhaps, has stopped working due to exhaustion). Conscientious students who’ve come in early to walk their schedules keep poking their heads into your classroom in hopes of getting a glimpse of their new teacher. You haven’t slept soundly in days because of that recurring nightmare where it’s the first day of classes and you can’t find your own classroom.

I know you’re going to balk at the idea of doing what I’m about to suggest—and I wouldn’t blame you—but I’m going to suggest it anyway:

Take 15 minutes sometime before the first day of school to sit down somewhere free of distractions and list the core beliefs that guide the work you do every day.

  

Think of these core beliefs as tiny statements of purpose, as mini mission statements. These are the how, the why, and the so what for everything you do in your job. Articulating what you believe helps you sift through all the debris to focus your attention on what really matters. When you have a decision to make, these core belief statements can guide you. Most important, writing these beliefs down increases the opportunity that you will actually put them into action.   

There’s no magic number of statements that should be on your core beliefs list. Try to keep your list manageable because I don’t want it to be overwhelming or unwieldy. I started out with a goal of 5 beliefs but ended up adding a few as I continued to think about it. Your list is not an unalterable document; it probably will (and should) evolve over time.

Here’s what I came up with during my 15 minutes of brainstorming:    

    

My Core Beliefs at This Moment (Subject to Revision Because, Well, Things Change)

1. Infuse joy into all you do in the classroom. Learning shouldn’t be a drudgery.     

2. Students should view their teachers as lifelong learners, readers, writers, problem solvers, and curious questioners.

3. Relationships matter more than you think.   

4. Strategic decisions about what goes on during class time can eliminate a lot of ineffective, soul-sucking work outside of class time.    

5. It’s every teacher’s job to teach students to read, write, think, speak, study, organize themselves, and be decent human beings. These transferable life skills matter more than content.  

6. Every student deserves the best education possible. That means high expectations in a safe, supportive environment.

7. Students don’t know how far they can go. It’s up to you to spot their potential, help them see it, too, and give them a nudge to get there.

8. When given the choice between pointing out something someone did wrong and pointing out what they are doing right, give your attention to what you’d like to see more of.   

I’m planning to print and post this list on the bulletin board next to my computer so I can see it often. On the days when I need some refocusing, I will revisit that list as a reminder to keep me on track. Perhaps you’ll want to do the same.

I wish you a purposeful, productive, fulfilling year during which you keep your attention on the things that matter. Let me know how I can help.