1.

MAKE A LIST OF YOUR CORE VALUES THAT WILL BE A PART OF YOUR

CLASSROOM NO MATTER WHAT (ayers, pg 155).
-respect others
-be kind
-listen when others speak
-no question is a dumb question
-no opinion is wrong
-we are all friends
-care for one another
-help each other out

2. NAME and ARTICULATE 4 GOALS FOR YOUR FIRST YEAR, one related to your
teaching practices in the classroom, one related to outreach of some kind, one
related to children, and one more as you wish.
1. I hope to use the standards as loosely as possible so that I am able to teach
meaningful lessons that my students will find valuable. I want to take a survey and
have a discussion of what students want to learn and find ways to incorporate those
into most lessons and integrate them to cross over many content areas.
2. Participate in 3 community events so that children will be able to see me present
in their community. I want to step out of my comfort zone so that my students will
know that I am present and interested in their lives outside of school. I want to
spend as much time in the community as possible so students recognize me as a
friend and not just someone they see for 7 hours a day that they really dont know
anything about.
3. Know each child well enough that you would be capable of writing a short chapter
on each. I want to spend a good portion of the school day getting to know the
students in small group, whole group, and individual discussions. I want to know
about their personal lives and I want to create open dialogues for discussion of their
feelings and wants both in and outside of the classroom.
4. Complete as many field trips as I can so that I can get my students involved in
their community. School can get boring if we spend every single day doing similar
things in the same place, so I want to get them out of the classroom so they can
explore new places and the natural world.

3. Brainstorm and describe some plans you have in mind to build
relationships with families of your students. Think big!
-complete home visits if families are ok with it
-invite families in to my home- many at one time
-meet and greet at beginning of school year so not only do I get to meet
the parents but parents get to meet each other
-host educational after school activities but also fun ones
-attend students sporting events
-spend time doing things in the community like grocery shopping, going
to church, etc. where I might run in to parents