After reading
+Donald Gately's thoughtful one word post
"About a New Year: My "One Word for 2015" recently I set out to capture the essence of what it is I'd like to pay particular attention to this year- 2015. The word that captures my intentions is- focus.
Last year was one of tremendous growth including regular presentations, starting my educational podcasting show, increasing professional writing and branching out into new social networks. By the end of the year I was feeling stretched pretty thin on many projects. This might be a natural part of rapid growth, and I'm not pulling back in any means, but with the emphasis on focus I'll be more present in each endeavor.
For Family
I've always felt that family comes first no matter what, and I've already improved my focus on being present for my family. This means even more playing outside, reading together and spending time together no matter what. Being more efficient at work helps to carve out more time, for example taking a working lunch instead of staying late. I feel very fortunate to have a family and I realize how important it is to spend quality time together now more than ever.
The Classroom
Redoubling my efforts to provide timely, quality and descriptive feedback to my students requires concerted efforts. I've already starting prioritizing better which allows me to complete feedback in a more timely fashion. Continuing to create lessons that are inquiry based demonstrate the commitment to student centered learning that has become the hallmark of my classroom. With that focus on mind, I'm eager as the end of the year approaches because we have finally done away with final exams for four of the five classes I teach. This means that I will be able to spend the last month of our school year exploring student centered activities and creating memorable experiences!
Here's To A Great Year!
As this blog's tagline indicates,
I'm always learning and this year I intend continue with focus on what I enjoy, find interesting and is exciting. With this intentionality, I'm sure that 2015 will be the best year yet, I hope that we will continue learning together!
