Every Monday our principal provides us with a bulletin/newsletter of sorts that outlines the week, gives us some thoughts to ponder and reminds us where we are in the grand scheme of things.

Today’s bulletin had the following questions attached at the bottom so I thought that I might answer them.

Question One:

What is your purpose as a teacher in 2016?

You may be wondering why I struck out in 2016 and that’s fair enough. I have my goals for the year, which have been mentioned in other posts and I’d like to focus on that main part of that question – what is my purpose as a teacher…? To answer that I would say to share my love of learning. To help students view the world around them through multiple perspectives while they strengthen their own.

My purpose as a teacher is to guide students – it is not to do the work for them but to allow them to find new ways to do the work themselves. As I constantly remind my students – I’m here to guide and facilitate their learning. Hopefully, I’ve started the year off well with that line of thinking.

Question Two:

What performance goals have you set yourself in 2016?

I have numerous goals but the one thing they have in common is that they rely on the students and their engagement with the topics chosen. I don’t have precise statistics on where I want my students to be but I have expectations.

I expect students to aim for their best.

I expect students to challenge their idea of their best.

I expect students to attempt every standard offered.

I want students to find their own strengths in English.

I have already started a class website which I am updating weekly with mini progress reports. From that I want students to critically engage with the world around them in order to improve their general knowledge.

I know that every one of my students can pass and my aim is to help as many do that as possible.

Question Three:

What passion and energy will you bring to your purpose in 2016?

I know that I will have off days. I know that I will have days where I am anxious and that I feel like I am failing my students but I hope that they will always see the passion I have for the topics I teach.

I will have a multi-media approach to everything that I teach, from performing in front of my class to giving them scaffolded assessments. I with bring my passion to help fire up their own.

As mentioned before I already have my website and, in combination with Google Drive and Edmodo I hope to create stronger connections to students and their families. It is through my website and (of course) my teaching that I hope to show my passion.

Question Four:

Be proud to be a teacher at Trident High School in 2016.

I don’t think it matters what school you teach at. If you are happy in your work, see and enact positive change then you should be proud. I am proud of the accomplishments my students do, regardless of whether they are for Trident or just goals for themselves. I am proud to be part of an established community. I am privileged to be allowed to teach about the things I am most passionate every day…although I get tired and stressed and feel lonely at times, I truly love my job and am proud to do the job I do. After all, it is the students who come first.

Until next time – here is a look at the beginning of my class decorations. Just cause photos are fun.

The Back of my Classroom