Resolutions

My resolution for 2008 was a good one...improve my teaching of writing. As far as resolutions go, I think I did a pretty good job. I worked really hard to make writing projects more interesting for kids, to make my conferences with kids more relevant and helpful, and to seek help/ideas more often from colleagues and outside resources. The end result of this work? Well, I'm not sure how to explain it, but much of the way my Writing Workshop is organized and the writing projects we've done are the product of the work I did to meet my resolution.

I'm dedicated to continuing to work on last year's resolution. I have lots more ideas about writing, and there's always more improvements to make. But we all know how most resolutions end up...many fall flat (don't ask how often I've gone jogging in 2009!). So I'd have to say that last year's was a total success.

So, what's this year's teaching resolution? I've thought a lot about this, and I know I'm seven days late, but I think it's going to be: Make my teaching more individualized. I'm going to work harder to have every student working on individual academic goals. I want my teaching to better reflect the diverse needs of my students.

How am I going to do this? Not quite sure yet. But it starts with the resolutions the kids wrote for themselves in class on Monday. Don't know what your child's resolution was? Ask them. I'm going to try to hold them accountable. We'll be following up on them regularly and working toward making them happen. This could be a very successful learning experience, not only when it comes to their academic resolutions, but also in terms of learning how to set goals, making plans, and carrying out their plans. I'd call all of those things important life skills, for sure.

So I'll be blogging a lot about this (and the many, many other things going on in 2009) in the coming weeks.

By the way, what's your resolution? If you'd like to share, click the link below that says how many comments this post has. (example: 0 comments) Let us all know what you're working on in 2009, at home, at work, with your kids, etc. The comments feature is a great feature of blogs as it allows for interaction of the writers and readers.

Happy New Year (again)!