Welcome to 2010! Whew, where did that year go? Thank goodness we have markers, like the New Year, to prompt us to step back and take a break from this frantic pace of life and think about where we are in our goals and where we want to go over the next year. It’s interesting to reflect back on the plans we made last year at this time and give ourselves feedback on whether we met the criteria that we set for marking our steps to success. Some of us may need to adjust our goals to fit better with our present situation, but we can all celebrate our achievements, whether large or small.

I believe it is possible to create our life to be the way we want it to be. We just need the courage and commitment to begin planning for success, both in our own lives and in our teaching practice. Goethe said, “Whatever you can do or dream, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

As a first step in helping your students plan for a new outcome (or for helping us to achieve our own goals), we suggest you try an idea called ‘Goal Envelopes’ from CONFERENCING AND REPORTING (pages 17-20). An outline is available for the first part of the exercise and a template; samples and adaptations are included in the book. They can be viewed at www.annedavies.com/pdf/20C_GoalEnvelopes.pdf and  www.annedavies.com/pdf/20C_p58_Conferencing&Reporting.pdf
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“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

CONFERENCING AND REPORTING is part of the three-book series called ‘Knowing What Counts’ which is available at:
http://connect2learning.com/store/publications/knowing-what-counts-series-3-books