Goals are important to me. I have set goals for myself my entire life. Goals keep me focused, my goasl range from athletic goals to academic goals. I have different goals as a parent and even more goals as an individual. Setting goals make good sense to me. Although this assignment was focused on our student's goals, the goals for our students are very similar to goals I would want for myself.
The 12 goals that we discussed in class are all very good. I really liked the goal that the students will be responsible and accountable. This goal is a goal we as adults strive for. To be responsible is to be honest with your personal actions. As an example, if you check out a library book, you return it on time. The other part of this goal is accountability. To be accountable is also to be responsible, but to be accountable is when you do forget to bring the library book on time and you are charged a late fee, be accountable means you pay the fee. To me, being responsible and accountable is a sign of a honest person, a person who shares the same values as I do.
The last goal on our list was that students will demonstrate a willingness to engage in their community. After high school graduation, the students will live in their community as citizens. The goal of being engaged to me means that the students will be actively involved in their community. This involvement could be volunteering, or as an activist for more parks or whatever that person has a passion for. The goal of being involved in your community should be shared by all citizens.
Did we talk about a self assessment goal? I think we shared some thoughts on self assessment, I have notes written on it, but maybe not a goal. I feel that self assessment should be a goal. As the students move on through their lives as citizens, they should always be self assessing themselves. Maybe this is more of an action than a goal, but to me self assessing is very important. For me, self assessing means that I look back at my goals and assess how I am with the goal I have set. I ask myself, am on on track? Have a lost sight of the goal? What do I need to do to achieve the goal?
All in all, as a class I think we worked well together on organizing some excellent goals. I have enjoyed the journey!
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights about setting goals. I agree that as an individual and a parent, I am constantly setting goals for both my personal endeavors and also for myself as a mother. Like you mentioned, the goals that we generated in class for our future students, have a lot in common with goals people may set for themselves.
I love that you mention self-assessment, or being reflective on one's own learning. As a teacher, being reflective is one of my top goals, but I think that setting a goal for students to be aware of their learning, confusions, etc. is a great idea. Maybe this is more of an action for being responsible and accountable? In general, I think that many students are quite metacognitive about their learning, but lack the solutions or strategies to overcome difficulties. If self-assessment was a stated classroom goal, maybe being a reflective learner would come easier to students???
Just some thoughts as I am still reflecting...
I also like your comments about citizenship. I think as teachers, we need to make this goal plausible for students. So many kids/teens that I know these days are so reluctant to become involved. We need to find ways to promote this goal as teachers...
-Anna
I agree on the self assessment point that you made. The students should be assessing themselves to see how they are doing compared to reaching their goals. Maybe the reason that it was not included as a separate goal is because it is implied in the process of goals. I think that the process of goals has monitoring and self assessment built in. That being said, I do agree that it is important enough that it could be considered for a separate goal. This could be a good topic for class discussion or blog discussion.
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