Welcome to Cycle 6 of The 30 Goals Challenge: Inspire Forward!
“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” – Rita F. Pierson
Each year, teachers worldwide aim to accomplish 1 to 30 goals that transform their teaching. Join the movement by accomplishing any goal from any of the cycles then letting us know through a reflection or status update on our Facebook community, Twitter (#30GoalsEdu), or Instagram.com/30goals. At our official site, 30Goals.com, find all the goals, participant reflections, badges, and get your copy of The 30 Goals for Teachers workbook. We also post new/former goals each year that you can choose to accomplish with several of us. Find all the 2015 goals here!
Our second goal is be someone’s champion.
To accomplish this goal, support a colleague’s idea, vision, or ambition. In chapter 29 of The 30 Goals, I talk about the importance of sharing our ideas with those who will support us the most. Many ideas never come to fruition, because we share them with people who question them or tell us all the obstacles we will face by implementing them. Ideas are important, especially if they sound ludicrous, have never been tried, or have remained with us for a long time. Some of the most ludicrous ideas have made the most impact. Remember when saying that the earth was round was a ludicrous idea? Being someone’s champion means you listen to the idea and let them talk you through it and get excited about it. If they ask for support, then help connect them with resources or someone who could help them get a foundation for that idea. It could be as easy as suggesting a podcast, hashtag or chat to research, or person’s blog or Twitter account. As a teacher, we need to strive to be every student’s champion. Our students should feel they can share with us their ambitions and ideas and receive support. We can also connect them to role models to follow on social media or invite these experts to speak to visit our classrooms virtually in a Google HangOut, Skype conversation, or Twitter chat. Find more about inviting guest experts virtually in this presentation. Accomplishing this challenge supports the following goals in the book:
►Manifest an Idea
►Plant a Seed of Belief
►Develop a PLN
Inspire Forward
This year, we also have the additional challenge of using our accomplishments to inspire other teachers and students. After you have supported your colleague’s or student’s idea ask to share the idea with others. Sharing an idea shows true support.
►We have badges you can place on your blog or portfolio to show you accomplished the goal. Join the free Badgelist group for the 30 Goals to access your badges.
►Join the 30Goals Facebook group, Facebook.com/groups/30Goals, to connect with inspiring teachers worldwide.
►Follow us at Instagram where we will post participant reflections, achievements, and inspirational quotes to help you achieve your goals, Instagram.com/30goals.
►We will also share participant reflections in this free digital magazine, http://flip.it/4pveN. Tweet with the #30GoalsEdu hashtag or post to the Facebook group to get your reflections posted.
►Check out our Inspire Leaders for 2014 and sign up to be an Inspire Leader for 2015. Inspire Leaders help support our community in many ways- give badges, suggest goals, present at the 30 Goals online conference, and give away free copies to participants. They are also well loved by our participants and the strength behind our community. You don’t need any experience to sign up, just a big heart. You also don’t have to participate in every goal, just help the way you choose. If you are interested, please fill out this form.
►Stay tuned for how you can participate in our free online conference that will feature keynotes and presentations from our Inspire Leaders and participants. The conference will take place June 15 to 23rd, 2015.
►Follow the 30Goals.com site where we will share all these free resources and communities.
►You can purchase the 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers book and workbook here, http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415735346/. Purchasing the book isn’t a requirement, but you will get to listen to my personal stories and inspiration behind each goal. You’ll also get additional reflection exercises and forms to support you.
cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com
Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.
