Friday, May 15, 2015

Are we ready to reflect?

When I say reflection, what come to your mind??

A year ago it would have been a silly image of a teenage girl writing in her pink diary after a date with her crush. Yes, I know that is immature. Yes, I went through teacher training at Northeastern State. Yes, I was required to reflect. First Corinthians comes to mind here..."But when I became a man I did away with childish things". Throughout my internship I was "mentored" by several teachers that advised me that nobody has time for that kind of reflecting. So when I graduated college, I broke free from reflection. Oh the freedom. I thought I was doing away with those childish college only things.

But when it comes down to it, another scripture comes to mind Proverbs 22:6 that children start off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. This is to say, that even though I may have "fallen away" from reflecting on my lesson plans and teaching practices, I feel I must return to it. Yes, I know I am cherry-picking here, but it applies.

Throughout the last year, I have attended University of Central Oklahoma's Educators Leadership Academy. A year long course that better equips a person or at least reminds them of what it takes to be a good leader. In my role this year at Epic, being a leader in an official capacity was new to me.
Sidebar - Natural leading and official capacity leading are much different from each other. But that is a-whole-nother blog post. 
There was a heavy theme of reflecting through out the year long course. We were given a journal for such reflections. It felt so foreign at first...and then, all of a sudden. I was doing it all the time.

I am at a point where I am trying to reflect on the whole for how to plan our next school year. It is exciting and challenging at the same time. Ever feel that way? So another girly poster come to mind in my reflection process, but it applies as well. 



SO the questions I ask...
1. Was I good enough at X? What about Y? 
2. Can I do better at X? Y?
3. What does my team think about this?
4. Does something need to change?
5. Am I being too hard on myself?
6. If change is needed, how is it done? 
7. What is the first step?

So this year, the answers are: 
1. Eh 
2. YES!!! 
3. My team thinks yes, but agrees with the ability to do better 
4. YES, not many changes, but definitely a few 
5. Yes, but I think that is human nature.
6. Not going to bore you with the details
7. Make a 2015-16 goals list.

So question to you...What does reflection mean to you? Do you do it? Is it time to start the reflection process for the next school-year? What is your process? How do you go about making a change if there is one needed? Are you satisfied in your class? Building? District? Would you people/students qualify your thoughts? Do you have any questions I can add to my reflection process to help me make me better?

This is not an all call for a 8!+ch session about our great state. Just a real internal thought process. You can think through it silently, or more preferably, blog your own thoughts about this subject. Tag a few others and lets start a reflections domino effect. Maybe we make the greatest change to our great state this way.