Introduction to This Blog Series:  Establishing a sense of purpose is one of the most important responsibilities teachers face at the beginning of each new school year. Throughout this blog series I will share a variety of ideas that I have used to help students better understand why it is important to come to school every day, work hard, and learn as much as possible.

 

Using The Class Mission Statement to Connect the Present to the Future (Part 6 of the Series):  One of the primary benefits of a class mission statement is its ability to help teachers connect daily learning activities to important future purposes. By making this connection, we can help students find greater meaning in their work and better understand why committing themselves to educational pursuits is so vital.

Introduction to This Blog Series:  Establishing a sense of purpose is one of the most important responsibilities teachers face at the beginning of each new school year. Throughout this blog series I will share a variety of ideas that I have used to help students better understand why it is important to come to school every day, work hard, and learn as much as possible.

 

Using The Class Mission Statement As a Powerful Reference Point (Part 5 of the Series):  Last week I introduced the new class mission statement my students and I wrote a few weeks ago and started to analyze and describe it. Originally, I was planning to spend only one week on this topic, but because I enjoyed writing the post so much and felt there was so much value in sharing the thinking that goes into creating an effective mission statement, I wanted to keep this discussion going for a little while.

Introduction to This Blog Series:  Establishing a sense of purpose is one of the most important responsibilities teachers face at the beginning of each new school year. Over the next several weeks I will share a variety of ideas that I have used to help students better understand why it is important to come to school every day, work hard, and learn as much as possible.

 

The Most Powerful Move Teachers Can Make to Establish a Sense of Purpose in the Classroom (Part 4 of the Series):  Once you have chosen your Overall Classroom Aim (see Parts 2 and 3 of this Blog Series), the next step in the process of establishing a sense of purpose with your students is to create a class mission statement so that you can refer to it throughout the year for guidance, support, and inspiration. Writing a class mission statement and revisiting it with your students frequently is the single most powerful move teachers can make to establish a sense of purpose.

Introduction to This Blog Series

Establishing a sense of purpose is one of the most important responsibilities teachers face at the beginning of each new school year. Over the next several weeks I will share a variety of ideas that I have used to help students better understand why it is important to come to school every day, work hard, and learn as much as possible.

Choosing a Classroom Aim (Part 3 of the Series)

After learning of the pioneering work done by the Enterprise School District in Redding, California at the beginning of my career, I decided to adopt a classroom aim for the 1997-1998 school year.  Rather than adopt Enterprise’s aim of “Maintain learning while increasing enthusiasm” verbatim, I chose to modify it.