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Hiking with friends at Mt Pisgah in Lake Willoughby, VT
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One of my most favorite summer activities is hiking. On nice days (and even rainy days as long as there isn't any thunder in the forecast), you can find me in the woods. I'm normally huffing and puffing and so super sweaty, but also very lost in thought. Sometimes I just have a song stuck in my head or thinking about the last podcast of which I've listened. But a lot of times, I'm reflecting on the past school year. Not intentionally, but it is just where my mind will wander. I will be thinking about what projects went well and those that were epic fails. Sometimes I might even laugh out loud thinking about what a student did that tickled my funny bone. (Luckily the woods doesn't judge you). It is during this time, that I'm beginning to think about my goals for the next year. No, this is not the formal process of developing goals for my library or my teaching. This is just my way of reflecting, processing, and locating my future hopes and dreams. The topics that are the most front of mind in each hike help me know what I want to focus on for the upcoming year.
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| "Bulls Eye Bull Darts" by Skitterphoto. https://pixabay.com/photos/bulls-eye-bull-darts-game-win-1044725/ |
My district uses the Danielson framework for evaluation but it is also required to tie our goals to a Danielson domain. They also like it if you can tie your goal to any district initiatives or standards. I use my formal goal in two different ways. One is to set an actual goal that I want to work on. One that I was thinking about during my summer hikes. But I also use my goals as a form of advocacy since I will have to formally meet with my principal about this goal. It seems such a perfect opportunity to educate him on what I do in the library and how the library program can help the whole school community. Due to this, I always make sure that this formal goal includes the AASL standard that I'm trying to achieve. I've made sure all my principals have the PDF print out of the standards to refer to as well. I also make sure that the goal fits with the school's stated initiatives and priorities. This is normally what my principal really cares about so if I can show how I can make his life easier with my goal, the better he will view the library program. In the past this has been Common Core, STEM, and Equity. This has really helped me out in the long run. I've had money added to my budget to get books that support their projects or time set aside in my schedule to work specifically on their pet project. Even this summer, I'm getting new picture book shelves for my library because I was able to help my principal with his own goal! Meeting with my principal for my formal goal meeting also gives me the opportunity to talk about long term goals with the library. This really is how I start my conversation, with a vision statement of what the library could be, what I want our graduates to be able to do, to connect what we do with the greater world. By painting the picture, I can then move to the small steps it will take to get there. If I can sell the vision, then I can get the support from my admin to move forward.
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| "Binoculars Looking Man" by Free-Photos. https://pixabay.com/photos/binoculars-looking-man-discovery-1209011/ |
My hiking trips are crucial to helping me identify my goals. I'm not thinking about the Danielson framework or even the AASL standards. I'm just thinking about my students. The nice thing about our jobs (and the AASL standards) is that they really fit anything that is connected to growth. This also makes it easier to tie the AASL standards to any priorities your principal has. If anything, they give a well defined voice to a librarian's vision of learning. Due to this, I would advise my new mentee to not start by looking at the standards. Instead, I would advise having them work on their vision of the future. What do they want their program to look like? What do they want their students to be able to do? Holding that vision in their head, they can then look at the standards. The standards will help them get the precise language they will need to develop their goals and the action steps they will need to accomplish them. I would also advise them to start small. Pick one thing to get good at. There will be time next year to do other things, and then the year after that. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the different moving pieces of our job. Picking something that has to do with their vision will help by keeping it relevant and keep them feeling like they are moving in the right direction. When in the middle of hiking, all you see are the trees and the trail under your feet. But the purpose of all that hard work is to get to the pinnacle to see that awesome vista at the top. Keeping that vision in your head, helps you through the heavy breathing, the muscle cramps, and the drenching sweat. The vision is your ultimate goal.
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| At the top of Stowe Pinnacle trail |
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to setting goals while in the woods or outdoors! I do some of my best thinking this way as well. There is something calming about being outdoors and I find that my mind can simply wander to all kinds of deep thoughts. Invariably, as I'm on a walk in the woods, or gardening, I think about my students and the library space and services. I really like your idea of suggesting to mentees to focus on what their ultimate vision will be. By creating visions of what students will be able to do, or what the library will look like or have to offer, our mentees will be excited about growth in general. Then they will be able to choose one part of that vision, and yes, then refer to the AASL standards to confirm this vision and find the vocabulary to guide a SMART goal.
And thanks for some sharing some suggestions of hikes to explore! Enjoy!
Emily, I loved your hiking example! Really well done. I also appreciate how you connected your goals to advocacy. Done right, our goals can elevate our programs and "prove" how awesome the library is to admin and everyone else. Like you, I also think a lot about school stuff when I'm hiking and walking (and I also get super sweaty!) and sometimes I get those little breakthrough thoughts in the middle of scrabbling up rocks. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI also really like that you connected your goals to advocacy! Such a great idea! I have found that I often have to reframe my work and programming for admin and using the goals as a way to educate is a great way to authentically demonstrate the validity of our work. I hadn't thought about my goals through that lens and I think this could really shift the way I think about my goal setting process. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteYour reflection is powerful in many ways. It seems corny to think that no matter where we are, we are always somehow connected to our learning spaces. It defines us as educators. Always in the back of our minds are the many learners who make us want to find new ways to make things betters for them in their learning journeys. Those trips to the mountains or the woodpile, or even to Broadway or the shore, are what rejuvenate our brain cells.
ReplyDeleteBut I truly applaud your focus on vision. That is what really drives the train. A clear vision, maybe not from a mountaintop per se, but from a big picture viewpoint of the impact of the safe learning spaces that empower learning gives meaning to our mission. This week in my slides, I outlined the mission as I see it. I hope that you agree. That mission allows us to enact the vision as you so ably shared.
This is the message that you can share with your mentees, and then allow them the space to develop their commitment to that vision-and own it, too.
Thanks for this clarifying message. I will be reinforcing it again and again in the EDLI fall course that I will teach once again. I will be guiding a number of your mentees as they learn the ropes, so to speak.
Judy
It’s terrific you use this process of Goal setting to develop your advocacy opportunities with your administrator. The notion of tying your goals to his is brilliant, and makes so much sense! This vision, and ability to pull in ASL standards and school and community goals, will be appreciated by your mentee. Please rehearse this Goal Setting meeting with your new hire!
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