Ok, test time! What are your school's "Big Rocks"? Times up! How did you do? As we look forward to longer days, warmer weather, and the coming forth quarter, we sometimes forget what it is we are focusing on.
SDW's focus on the SAIL process has embedded within its framework a call for on-going and consistent communication. While that may seem obvious (after all, we communicate all the time in education), it is precisely because we communicate so much that we need to remind ourselves of what our goals/focus are. As a system, we do a good job of communicating our "why", our "what", and our "how" at the start of the year. We also do a good job of summarizing the year at the end, but often do we remember to revisit and refocus during this time of the year?
I was reminded of this fact recently when I was in a conversation with a principal. We all have good intentions to communicate the goals and milestones we are trying to achieve. However, in the course of the day-to-day work, it becomes easy to pass over opportunities to recommunicate our big rocks, learning targets, and/or intended outcomes. How can we combat this?
There is no surefire way. Every person has their own approach whether it be calendar reminders, 100-day plans, and/or trustworthy colleagues. The important thing is to determine the best system for you and take time now to start entering in reminders. Another important step is to be aware of your surroundings. If you sense that you, your class, or your school is moving in multiple directions, ask yourself if now is a time to recommunicate what it is you are aiming towards. Lastly, beginning meetings or classes by stating what it is you are all there and how it relates to your overall goals, helps to keep your "first things first."
So as we wait for the first 70-degree day of 2017, we can take the time to communicate/recommunicate our goals. Thank you for everything you do to make SDW better every day.
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