One of the best things about being an educator is that we get a fresh start at the beginning of every semester. My husband works in the corporate world, and when he takes a few days off, he returns to the same never-ending projects and a backlog of emails. When I return from a break, I am greeted by a clean slate, full of promise. A new class schedule! A fresh gradebook! A roster of new faces I’ve yet to meet!
This electric feeling that comes with each fresh start always inspires me to set a few goals or intentions for my semester. I often focus on revamping some bugaboo of a lesson from the previous semester or I explore a new approach to my evolving pedagogy. I realize, however, that I am missing a part of the equation for real change and growth: accountability.
I wonder how many of my colleagues have experienced a similar cycle of setting goals that gather a layer of dust by midterm?
If you are interested in keeping your own semester intentions and goals alive, I invite you to join a small community of colleagues who are of the same mind. Throughout the semester, I will post fun, low-key questions and small exercises for us in Padlet in the hopes of keeping us accountable to the optimistic version of ourselves who sat at the helm during the week of celebration and learning. (I don’t know about you, but the version of myself driving the bus by week 12 looks like this: 🫠)
At the end of the semester, we can meet for coffee to celebrate (regardless of our success)!
If you’d like to take part, simply join our Padlet or shoot me a quick email at lisa.moore@gccaz.edu. In your first post, which you can write or record as a video, share your semester goal(s) or intentions with the group. If you don’t already have a goal, think about your hopes for yourself this semester in terms of your teaching or your work here at GCC, your professional development goals, or even your efforts to maintain a work/life balance!