My New Year's Resolution–Take Two

Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.  
–Cavett Robert

On January 1, 2014, I made a resolution to run a half marathon before the year was over. I have done it before and knew I could do it again; I just needed to commit to a goal. Unfortunately days went by, life happened, and by the end of 2014, I joined the many who had not stuck to their New Year’s resolutions.

A few weeks ago I revisited this goal and started to reflect on why I was unsuccessful. I could come up with a thousand excuses, but the ultimate reality is that I did not set goals that would prepare me to run a half marathon. It would have been better to resolve to run three or four times each week, or to follow a certain training regimen. Instead, I set a goal with no plan for how I would get there, and set myself up for failure. 

This lesson transfers to the classroom. Whether the goal is for our students to be independent readers and writers, for them to read a certain amount of time or a certain number of books, or for our class to be proficient on a district assessment, we need to focus on the behaviors that will aid in reaching that goal. For example, in my classroom I will take the necessary time to gradually build stamina, will provide my students independent reading time daily, and will use formative assessments to accelerate growth. When we focus on the behaviors as well as the benchmarks, we reinforce fundamental changes that will lead to success.

So this year, as you make your New Year’s resolutions, think about what is at the heart of what you want to achieve and set your goals accordingly. I decided this year I will make a personal and a professional resolution in an effort to improve two areas of my life. Focusing on the behaviors needed to reach the benchmarks will assist in the ability to continue with the resolution long after the goals have been achieved.  

Happy New Year!

 

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b-Resilient Passion Are you continuing to rekindle passion for what you do?

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Professional Development Opportunities

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2015 Live Workshops We are excited about our 2015 workshops. At each location, the first day will focus on Daily 5 and Math Daily 3. Day two is a new CAFE Intensive.  Location Dates Chicago, IL Westin North Shore April 18, 19 Charlotte, NC Westin Charlotte June 6, 7 Tacoma, WA Hotel Murano June 25, 26 Orange County, CA Hyatt Regency Orange County August 3, 4 Minneapolis, MN Radisson Blu Mall of America August 29, 30 Fort Worth, TX Hilton Fort Worth September 19, 20 Las Vegas, NV Tropicana Las Vegas November 14, 15

2015 Online Seminars Prefer short bursts of information combined with independent learning? We offer 3 seminars covering Daily 5, CAFE, and Math Daily 3. February 1–February 28 March 1–March 28 April 5–May 2 Register   Learn more about Daily 5 and CAFE workshops, online seminars, and online graduate courses.