We can stop and celebrate that we have made it through the first two quarters of the 2015-2016 school year. We have much to celebrate and much to be grateful for. Despite the numerous changes at the state level with school status--there is always something to be grateful for! Now it's time to push and make the most amazing impact on the lives of our students during quarters 3 and 4. The moment is NOW to think about the following:
1) What relationships have I built with my students? Are there one or two students that could use a little more in this area?
2) Where are my students now?
3) What do they need to get where they need to be?
4) What do I need to adjust? add? change? eliminate?
5) What supports do I need to make this happen?
As you we plan, reflect and work together in Professional Learning Teams we have to be aware that there is a real sense of urgency to make sure that we make the changes that need to be made to push us to where we need to be.
Why Urgency?
The rate of change is increasing so fast
The need to do something that addresses where we need to go is upon us.
From John Kotter's A Sense of Urgency:
"The dictionary tells us that urgency means “of pressing importance.” When people have a true sense of urgency, they think that action on critical issues is needed now, not eventually, not when it fits easily into a schedule. Now means making real progress every single day. Critically important means challenges that are central to success or survival, winning or losing. A sense of urgency is not an attitude that I must have the project team meeting today, it all starts with a sense of urgency about everyday. Urgent behavior is not driven by a belief that all is well or that everything is a mess but, instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards. Even more so, urgent action is not created by feelings of contentment, anxiety, frustration, or anger, but by a gut-level determination to move, and win, now."
We are winners, dreamers and NOW is the time to DREAM BIG and let our daily actions line up with this thought!
