Hello Stranger...

Clearly I have indulged in a three-month hiatus from my blog. No time like the present to start fresh.

Picking back up on the strengths mentioned from the previous post. How am I going to use these as I proceed with the school year? In particular, how am I going to use them to accomplish my goal: pushing my highest achieving students to meet their potential.

The students I'm talking about are achievers...just like me. That's a good start. They are motivated to succeed, to be the best, and that motivation is often enough to shape their academic goals. These students won't be satisfied with mediocre growth, just as I am dissatisfied with mediocre growth. I will definitely need to have individualized data conferences with the students. They need to know exactly where they stand, how they can improve, and help create an individualized plan of action.

Then there was that weird strength: input. When I think about input, I think "sharing" and "collaboration," not collection. All of a sudden, however, I realized that one thing I do like to collect is data. Not just the data the state gives me, but data that comes from my own teaching and assessments. This data can guide how I motivate and enrich my students.

Learning is another my strengths. Targeting a specific demographic will force me to turn to the research. What have others done to motivate their brightest kids? What works? What doesn't? There is no need to recreate the wheel. Instead, I can tap into my passion for learning. Hopefully, I can bring my findings back to my collegues and allow for school-wide development.

My final strengths were focus and determination. While I know that these are strengths, they have been challenged as of late. I find it harder and harder to stay focused on the bigger goals. The school year seems to be slipping away too fast. I have also caught the MLK Magnet procrastination bug...if it isn't due tomorrow, don't start working on it yet! Seriously?? Not how I want to be as a teacher or leader. So the challenge in front of me is having the determination to stay focused on my goals...nothing like the New Year to start fresh.