Sunday, February 19, 2012

Week Five: Idealistic vs. Realistic

Setting realistic expectations...I know this is going back to the basics, but it's something I've always struggled with. I think we all have this idealistic view of the world and what we can accomplish, but sometimes it's hard to tone that down and look at what is practical, what is doable. That certainly doesn't mean that we don't constantly push ourselves and explore our limits, but it does mean knowing where we stand physically and emotionally and recognizing that saying "no" is an option...even when we WANT to do everything.

Establishing these limits means figuring out what the individual steps are and creating realistic timeframes for accomplishing those goals. It's something that applies to nearly every aspect of teaching, from involvement is extracurriculars, professional development opportunities, and our ability to effectively plan lessons/units and cover all of the material in one short year. Beyond trial and error, have you discovered strategies for making sure that your goals are manageable and realistic?

No comments:

Post a Comment