Reflection and Resolutions

In 4 days the new academic year will begin.

I survived my first year of teaching. It was the most hectic, busy and stressful year of my life thus far. It was also highly enjoyable (though sometimes I did wonder if I was going to make it to the next day with my sanity intact).

I think I did a lot of things well, and I believe that I grew as a teacher throughout the year. I certainly started to develop a (slightly) better work-life balance - my friends were very excited by the prospect of seeing me more than once a month.

However, there are many areas that I know I can improve in. Here are my 'teacher resolutions' for 2013:

1. Stop procrastinating

This is a fairly obvious one. I need to be more organised and to get things done immediately - it'll make my life easier. I procrastinated an awful lot this year, and this is a habit I plan on breaking.

     2. Slightly less 'Miss Nice'

I know this is one of the first things that they tell in when you embark on your teaching qualification - you're to start out strictly. Did I? Not so much...and I know that occasionally students took advantage of this. I need to be stricter and maintain tighter control of student behaviour and expectations. I plan to emulate a colleague of mine, who maintains excellent relationships with her students while still being firm re: deadlines, etc. I still plan on being mostly me...just slightly meaner when it's needed!

    3. Mark more frequently

I want to keep better tabs on my marking, to maintain a more accurate record of student progress. Don't get me wrong, I knew where my students were at all times, but I know that I could've given even more feedback, and built in more opportunities for them to improve. This is one of my main goals for 2013. I really like Hayley Thompson's excellent document on marking, and plan to implement this. 

4. Maintain my commitment to technology - and to tech-literacy

I want to maintain my commitment to technology in class, and to push this even further. I hear a lot of talk about how our students are tech-literate, and this frustrates me. Our students can use technology very easily - a byproduct of growing up in such a digital age - but they are not literate in it. My task is to teach them to be more critical of what they see, how they search for and consider information, and how to use specific programs e.g. Excel, Google Earth, etc.

5. To not just be local, but global

Down here in Australia, I've found that it's easy for a lot of people (especially students) to forget that there is a wider world out there. I want to remind them of this - there are so many opportunities for them beyond the shores of Australia (though it is a rather good place to be most of the time). The curriculum has a very Australian and Asia-Pacific focus, and I want to look beyond the mandated content/ideas. To this end, I plan on having a 'What in the World?!' wall in my classroom(s). This will have a world map on, a country of the week, and contain a space for current world events. While I will start this off, the aim is to transfer responsibility to my students. I am also going to try to set aside some time each week where we can discuss a current event. Dream large!

Further from this, I would really like to develop links with schools overseas - I'd be happy for this to take the form of emails, Skyping, a joint Wikispace (or similar), etc. Learning about the lives of others and gaining an understanding of different viewpoints, letting yourself be challenged - these are all skills and knowledge that our students should have. If you're interested in linking up with some classes in Australia, please email me. 

What are yours?