Creating Milestones
From the desk of Carol C…
Most “impossible” goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine. Don Lancaster
I want to be healthier, but it seems I can’t to do anything about it. Each night I come up with a plan for eating healthier food and exercising. My goals range from eating what I should every day for every meal to choosing my food wisely and exercising for an hour a day. Then I wake up the next morning and think of how long it’s going to take to get healthy and how much effort it will take, and I give up. I tell myself my goal is unattainable.
Many students feel the same way about learning. They tell themselves they cannot learn all of the irregular French verbs and how to conjugate them, the timeline of Russian history, or how to subtract numbers. Just like I do they look at the endpoint and are overwhelmed with all of the work and time involved. So what are they and I supposed to do? Quit? Stay unfulfilled as we are unable to achieve something we want?
No, the answer is in setting small realistic goals. For me it may mean planning one day at a time for food and exercise. It even could be that I need to narrow my focus and plan one meal, one exercise at a time. Made it through breakfast…check. Now for lunch.
Our students need to learn to do the same. They need to break down the big task into smaller ones. In this way they can achieve smaller goals on their way to the much larger one. As teachers, we need to help them see how this type of approach brings a sense of fulfillment and achievement. In turn this sense spurs us on to the next goal and the next and the next. We think students instinctively know how to set small goals especially older kids, but many do not. It’s easy to see the small steps which need to be taken when it’s not your problem you’re trying to solve.
Several years ago I had a student, Kelly, who loved to write, but her progress was at a standstill. She was unable to move from telling her readers what a character was feeling to showing them emotions. During a conference with her, I asked her how she thought she could move her writing to showing, not telling. “I can’t do it,” she replied miserably. “It’s too hard. I’ve tried.”
“Of course you can. Let’s look at all of the small ways you can begin to learn how to convey emotions more effectively in your writing. What’s one of the first places you go to learn how to grow as a writer?”
“Reread some books by good authors who can do it.”
“That’s number 1. What will you do next?”
“Try to copy some of the ways they do it.”
“Good. That’s number 2.”
“I just don’t think I can do it in my story.”
“How can you make it easier then?”
“Make one change, and then not have to make anymore?”
“Exactly. Just make one change. Then the next time you write a story try for more than one change or improve on the one you’ve already made.”
Kelly tried once, twice, three times more and finally made a change she was satisfied with. When she came to show me what she had done, I asked her how she felt about her progress as a writer that day. She told me she was happy with it and would try again with another story later.
Kelly set her own reasonable short term goals. I didn’t set them for her. She had ownership of them. My job was to guide her in setting these goals. To me this is what fulfillment looks like in the classroom. In one sense fulfillment in education means achievement. Not achievement like a score or a grade, but achievement like “I was here and now I’m further along. I’ve progressed”. This is what Kelly realized when she said she was happy with her progress. She had been at point A and was now at point B a little further down the continuum.
We all need to learn everything doesn’t have to be perfect the first time or ever for that matter. The journey is as important as the end result. Now here’s to me setting my goal for my next exercise session and to you helping students reach their final destination step by step.
