Setting Goals: Instrumental and Missional Thinking (march 13, 2016)
My main short term goal is to continue strengthening my relationship with the math teachers who share my students. I want to see close coordination between the data analysis skills my students must have and the math skills they are learning in their math courses. I want to emphasize the need for conceptual mastery as well as the need to learn the calculations required to complete labs. Another short term goal is to have my students use technologies that will engage them in developing creative presentations about key statistical concepts. This project should help students develop greater conceptual mastery over statistics topics - which will help them retain these skills and critical ways of thinking about data and science.
My main long term goal is to grow the small scale partnership I am currently building into a full partnership between the math and science departments. From freshman year to senior year, there are great opportunities to coordinate math instruction with science data analysis. Right now these skills are not being taught in concert and most math or science teachers at Kennedy don’t even know what is going on in each other’s classes, even at the same grade level. This is a golden opportunity for both departments because it allows students to practice the math skills in real science settings and allows science teachers to spend more time on conceptual mastery and less time on computational skills. Many math teachers struggle with making their math concepts connect to real world experiences and many science teachers struggle to teach the math skills associated with labs while simultaneously teaching science concepts. By coordinating instruction, we can improve mastery and retention of math skills and concepts while also engaging students in data driven science inquiry.
My main long term goal is to grow the small scale partnership I am currently building into a full partnership between the math and science departments. From freshman year to senior year, there are great opportunities to coordinate math instruction with science data analysis. Right now these skills are not being taught in concert and most math or science teachers at Kennedy don’t even know what is going on in each other’s classes, even at the same grade level. This is a golden opportunity for both departments because it allows students to practice the math skills in real science settings and allows science teachers to spend more time on conceptual mastery and less time on computational skills. Many math teachers struggle with making their math concepts connect to real world experiences and many science teachers struggle to teach the math skills associated with labs while simultaneously teaching science concepts. By coordinating instruction, we can improve mastery and retention of math skills and concepts while also engaging students in data driven science inquiry.
WHere Am I now...
I am in my living room at 7:45 PM on a Sunday.
Most of the items I took pictures of reflect things that I am proud of as accomplishments...My wedding picture, my son’s favorite toy truck and his little brother’s favorite book (about trucks), the picture window on our house that my wife and I rehabbed, a recently finished ice cream bowl and the TV. All of this makes me feel pretty good about my life and what I’ve accomplished. The ice cream bowl and tv aren’t so much an accomplishment, but it does represent my current emotional state: the tired relaxation that comes after the boys go to bed for the night. They’ve been up and active since about 6 AM.
The truck... represents creativity and flexibility. This is my oldest son Patrick’s favorite toy and one of his favorite thing to do is use it to help pick up toys before bedtime. He use to push back against helping us tidy up but one evening I asked if he could help pick up his many many matchbox cars using the truck. He loved the idea and is now an awesome helper at cleanup time.
The picture window... represents respecting tradition. When we rehabbed the house, we pretty much gutted the place leaving nothing but four brick walls and a floor. But there were some aesthetic features to the house that we wanted to save. Saving that window meant saving the character of the house while still modernizing it.
The baby book... represents patience. Laura and I have read books like this to both of our boys from the days they were born. At first, it felt pretty pointless, reading to a neonate as they seemed to look around and pay no attention to what I was doing. But one day they each reached out a hand and turned the page. At that moment I realized that they have been listening and paying attention. Those have been some of my favorite moments as a parent.
The ice cream - represents reward.
The TV showing football - represents the need to relax and reset.
The wedding picture - represent teamwork. Our marriage has been a story of teamwork and trust. Together we have become better than the sum of our parts.
Being in this room at this time made me feel relaxed and content. We had just put the boys down for bed after a long day of parenting. I had a bowl of ice cream and put on the football game. So my primary emotion was calm satisfaction.
A leader can make people feel any number of emotions. Leaders can inspire, motivate and excite. Good leaders work with their team, build trust and guide people to do better. My emotions are often put at ease by a good leader and I get the feeling that there is a plan that will succeed if we all pitch in.
Leadership is taking responsibility for the hardest, least rewarding tasks. Show others your humility and your dedication to the collective success.