New Year. New Blog. Same Me (with some modifications)! It might not be a catchy title for my first blog, but it will suffice. Now, keep reading (please?).
I finished Ditch That Textbook by J. Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) on a flight to Utah this week. It is a fantastic book that discusses how educators can transform their teaching by embracing a new paradigm; one that embraces technology, taking risks, and being real with our students. One of the more eye-opening passages, in my opinion, revolved around teachers being selfish by not sharing. Other snippets discussed that its OK to be vulnerable, and how it contributes to our growth. Thus, this new venture into blogging was born.
The purpose of this post is to share my goals for the upcoming year, and to share the word that I hope defines my 2017 (a great idea stolen from Ditch That Textbook). I have many goals for 2017, but will list and briefly discuss my top 3.
2017 GOALS
1. Start blogging
I think I am off to a solid start on this one. I don't feel super confident in committing to X blog posts per week, but I am aiming for 2 posts per week. The purpose of this blog will be to share my successes, blunders, and musings in my role as a teacher educator. I speak to my students frequently about the importance of being a reflective practitioner, and this will make some of my reflection more public. I am hopeful it will help someone, somewhere, somehow.
2. CREATE and SHARE
I know this is relatively vague, and I like it that way. This particular goal may be accomplished via creating and sharing lessons or projects from my courses, help guides for useful tech tools, or workshops/presentations on 'best practices' within the learning environment. (I use best practices hesitantly- because I know what is best in my situation, may not be best in someone elses).
3. Empower students
I want to do a better job at empowering my students to take control of their learning. I want to relinquish control where possible. I want to facilitate, not dictate, within the learning environment.
2017 WORD
As seen in the picture, AUDACIOUS is my chosen word for 2017. "Intrepidly daring," or "recklessly bold," or "marked by origniality and verve," are the suggested definitions of audacious according to Merriam-Webster. I LOVE THEM ALL!
I want to be intrepidly daring in the classroom. I want my instruction to be marked by originality. I want to challenge students with relevant, recklessly bold assignments. I want to be audacious in all that I do in 2017; professionally and personally.
If you are still reading this... thank you! Thank you for playing a role in my accountability network. I hope you will stop in from time to time to see what my students and I have been up to. Feel free to connect with me on Twitter (@opmccubbins).
OP
