Goals for 2018-2019

My department chair encouraged me to share a few personal professional goals for this academic year, so I thought I'd share them here:

These are all ongoing goals that I've had for much of my teaching career, but they remain central to my focus this year.
(In no particular order)


1. To improve my Latin speaking and writing fluency and improve my listening comprehension. This is a goal because I wish to be able to facilitate class discussion in Latin with greater ease. I know that, at some level, my students' range of input is limited to what they read in the textbook and what I am able to produce (write and speak). I plan to work on these skills by listening to Latin podcasts (shoutout to Quomodo Dicitur!), committing to writing passages in Latin that are interesting and relatable to my students, and (hopefully) attending at least one immersive Latin conference this year.


2. To plan and implement lessons that are engaging to ALL learners in my classroom. This goal is important because without lessons that have understandable and interesting content and activities that make all students participate, class time is boring (for all) and requires the use of discipline measures to make students comply. I hope to work toward this goal by paying attention to student interests, integrating technology, and holding space for each student to have a voice in the classroom. I am always open to new ideas and am eager to hear about what works well in other classes.


3. To facilitate a collaborative department culture with the colleagues in my department. I have mostly been a "lone wolf" at my previous school campuses. I was usually either the only (or, at BASIS, the only experienced) Latin teacher on my campus and have sought out collaboration and mentorship from a variety of sources. This year, I hope to be an engaged colleague, learn from the other Latin teachers in my department, and share insight from my own experience. I know that I have much to learn from both members of my department about different aspects of teaching and school life, and I look forward to developing a positive culture in our department. I know that I benefit from clear, direct communication and face-to-face interaction. Meeting with my colleagues once per 7-day schedule rotation will help us to work well together.

What are your goals for this year? I'd love to hear about them!