Switching off whilst staying switched on...

 

The Dilemma...

I am at times a very predictable beast... at the end of each academic year I tell myself what I going to do over the break and how 'I'm not going to do what I did last year!'.
This July was no different, as I set loose and lazy goals for what I want to achieve over the six-week break:

'I will get my schemes of work done!'
'I'm going to set up my resources ready for the first term!'
'I need to sort my fitness out!'

I have realised however that this type of goal setting brings two major problems;

a.) The goals are too far-reaching; and do not inform appropriate action
b.) The focus of the goals piles the pressure on over the summer break! What about family, rest and me?

So how much do I do? What is the norm? What is the balance? The reality is, I have never got this right, and the fact I revisit the same method of goal setting each year and achieve very little signals that change is needed. 

Teachings on goal setting for fitness from 'Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle' by Tom Venuto have stuck with me, and highlight how lazy goal setting has been setting me up to fail. Venuto reflects on ineffective goal setting, observing that very often 'your actions are incongruent with your goals' when you aim for something that is unclear and lacking context, and you fail to act in a way that would lead to your goal as a result. 

So what to take from this? Well I take from it that goals need actions; so I have decided to focus on 'Affirmations' this summer in place of, or probably in support of set goals. Some examples of affirmations I have in place for the summer break and for returning to work:

- I am making the most of sunny days with my wife and my two boys
- We have activities booked to do as a family
- We have spent time outdoors
- I am exercising 3 times a week
- I am returning to work at the end of August with some clear ideas in place

Note the shift from work to life, and how the affirmations are written in the present tense even though the outcome is in the future! Let's see how I get on over the next few weeks!

The balance in the examples above highlights the dilemma... it is the end of term, a summer break; but I can't ignore that there are things that need to be in place to make my day-to-day a lot easier when students return.
But how much do I do, and when? Particularly considering my wife is working full-time hours, and the entertainment of my boys; 6 and 3, falls mostly on me (which is a blessing given that during term time, Daddy hours with them is limited!).
I would be interested to hear what approach other parents, or indeed anyone with other fixed commitments takes to similar challenges...

How it has started...

So it looks like I will be opening my blog posts with an account of my ponderings and inner thoughts... OK let's go with that!

To follow, I will move on to a summary of three things I have been doing! 

• I have created an 'Exam Question Tracker' for Level 2 Extended Certificate in Public Services Unit 1 (The Role and Work of the Public Services). It outlines every question that has featured on past exams so far to allow for mapping questions to lessons/topics.
  *Give me a shout if this would be useful to anyone!
  I have also made a dent in the Scheme of Work for this Unit.
  
  
• I have decided to set up a classroom Library for further reading; and I will be setting study tasks which require students to use the resources available. 
  Thanks to the advice and suggestions from the edutwitter community I will expand this to add links to online resources, and reading for pleasure.
  
  
• I have invested in a couple of books to inform improvements to my own practice; namely Kate Jones' 'Retrieval Practice' and Tom Sherrington & Oli Caviglioli's 'Teaching Walkthroughs', with a view to incorporating more impactful teaching and learning practices.

Where it is going...

Three things I am looking to do (note that these are outcomes, not goals, in case it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, ha!):

• Create an environment where students place greater emphasis on, and see the greater value of reading
• Help students improve their writing ability, and understand the impact of well-structured written English
• Learn more! Continue to enjoy the guidance and support of the edutwitter community, and invest in more literature focused on outstanding teaching practice. 

What's Next?

I feel like my decision to start Blogging is a bit of a statement of intent! Particularly given it seems I am focusing on writing about actions and affirmations! 

I am not entirely sure how often or how regularly I intend to post... I guess I'll know more when I put this out there and see if it resonates with anybody!
I'll also have to make sure I have stuff to blog about... given that me and my colleagues often joke that we could write a book about the day-in, day-out adventures of teaching FE in Salford, I'm sure the next post won't take too long to develop!

Good luck in finding a balance over the break, and do what works best for you!

Remember that 'a goal without actions is worthless'; so be realistic and make time for Summer!