“I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school's mission and vision, and look for ways to be a good citizen.” (Covey, 2008, pg. 18) According to Covey, the second habit is to “Begin with the End in Mind.” To begin with the end in mind is to plan ahead and set goals. There has to be a destination and having the mindset that I can create my own future. Situations, events, economy, people and any other external factors will not dictate my future, my choices and proactive approach will. The first step is to envision ourselves at the end of our journey or destination, where do I want to go? What do I want to achieve?
Oprah said it best, “the best work we can all do is create the highest vision possible for our lives and be led by that vision to the greatest good.” When I began to envision my true north compass, my destination or my future in education, it can be very difficult because I feel new to this field. When I first took the leap into the field of education at the age of 30, my vision and the end I had in mind was to have my own classroom where I can have a direct impact on the lives of children. I wanted to do good for this world. I wanted to make sure that the field of education benefited because of my presence, my unique experiences, knowledge and work ethic. Fast forward to today, that vision might have to be updated as I embark on this new journey, leadership.
My vision is to teach, become an administrator and to become a public speaker for education or motivating others. I went to a Professional Learning Community conference a few years ago and it broadened my scope and vision. I began to notice that all of the speakers had teaching, administrative and even superintendent experience. Now they travel the world speaking and changing the lives of districts, schools, teachers and students. I would love the opportunity to do good for this world at a larger scale.
My Behavioral Changes
The behavioral changes I need to align myself with the second habit is to surround myself with more people in leadership and to have conversations that go beyond my own classroom. This past year I began committing myself to different committees and volunteering myself for more leadership roles. This past June I was voted as the Student Site Council representative for our school which is a group of teachers, parents and classified employees that works with the principal to develop, review and evaluate school improvement programs and school budgets. The funny thing is that I have no idea who nominated me but I am very thankful for the opportunity and I think it will be a great molding experience as I embark into the field of leadership.
Teaching the Habit
I plan on teaching the habit to my students as we begin our school year. This past week, we began taking our beginning of the year assessments and it’s a great way to get students thinking about the end in mind habit. Where do you want to be at the end of the year? How many words do you want to read by the end of the year? (fluency) How many sentences do you want to write by the end of the year? How many paragraphs? What kind of a citizen do you want to be in this classroom/school? How are you going to help others? I basically want to teach my students how to set goals for the year, record them and have them revisit the goals throughout the year to ensure they are on the right track with their vision, choices and work ethic.
References
Covey, S. (2008). The Leader in Me (2nd Edition ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.