Sunday, October 27, 2013

Mission and Vision

When you love to write and dream, you have to stop now and then to make sure you're following what you truly believe in--your mission and vision.  Hence, at this juncture in the road, I'll declare what I'm committed to as an educational professional.
  • First and foremost, I'm committed to teaching the children I serve in Team 15 well.  That means finding ways to successfully engage and educate each child with responsive, standards-based, multi-modal learning experiences.  
  • Next, I'm committed to staying current with educational research, tools, materials, and strategies. I will do this by regular interaction with my PLN near and far, reading research, and attending educational events. 
  • Third, I want to be a kind, caring, and compassionate colleague who recognizes I'm only one voice, and that the collaboration of many voices including transparent discussion, debate, and shared decision is the way to build and develop a successful learning community. I will foster this through thoughtful work and sharing in my PLC, grade-level team, school, and project groups.
  • Finally, as Chris Lehmann emphasized at the MassCUE conference I want to "do as I say, and say as I do" with practice that reflects belief and commitment. 
For now, that's my professional mission and vision.  There's room to tweak and refine my work in these regards, but in general this is the path I'm on at present.  As always your debate, ideas, and questions are welcome.