Summer Goals

Writing goals down for just me is making a to-do list. Writing them out and sharing them here though helps keep me accountable. With a couple of very relaxed and mostly (had to take care of some emails here and there) school free weeks under my belt and the Fourth of July past, it's time to start looking ahead in earnest.

• Spanish
• Over Spring Break I learned that my local library offers Rosetta Stone for FREE! I had a big ah-ha moment earlier in the school year when I asked students who spoke a second language. Almost two thirds of my class raised their hands! With a growing ELL population, I would really like to get at least some basic Spanish down, including learning some terminology specific to teaching band. My students speak many languages aside from Spanish, but I'm hoping this will help me connect to more kids and families. I'm hoping to complete a lesson or two per day for the rest of the summer and to find some music ed resources too. Once the school year starts, I can practice with my students.
• Level 1 Google Certification
• I love all things Google and would love to expand my knowledge base. I'm really hoping to complete this before I share about using Google Classroom at a Fine Arts conference in late August. It's not a requirement for my presentation or anything else, but that feels like a reasonable time frame in which to get it done and will also mean that it's completed before the school year starts.
• More Grading Revamping
• I still don't know where I'm going to go with it, but I need to do something about my grading. They have to get grades. I have to hear them play individually. I don't want to do participation points. I believe in retakes and no late penalties. But at last estimate there will be close to 280 students in the band program next year and I'll have around 240 of them, which is up from the 220 I was responsible for this last year. My friend summed it up nicely by saying that logistics are battling with philosophy. I've got some ideas bouncing around, but I'm still figuring out a better direction for both my kids and me.
• Exercising
• Not necessarily school related, but when I'm more physically active, I just feel better. Along with walking my dogs and going for bike rides, I've purchased some weights and a few exercise bands to get back to the routine I when I was doing physical therapy earlier this year.
• Reading
• Holy Cow! I forget how much I love reading until a break comes (or maybe I just don't let myself remember). During the school year, I generally doze off instantly once I get a chance to sit still and read. I've been alternating fiction with educational books and it's been a good balance so far and I'm hoping to keep at it right up until school starts again.

So there they are. Official Professional Development starts in seven weeks. The school year starts in eight. There will still be plenty of relaxing and recharging, but these are goals that will help me not only be a better teacher, but a better me.

What are some of your goals for the summer? Have some Spanish music ed resources? Got a great book recommendation? Discovered the secret to meaningfully grading a large number of students while maintaining your sanity? Please share!