Sometimes you just need a plan. When the calendars come off the wall and you haven’t bought the 2017 calendar yet, where can you find the plan? Digital calendars don’t end. Not only can you go forward indefinitely, you can go back as well. When I scrolled back, I made it to 1770. Crazy!
Recently on the #Good2Great Voxer chat, Kari Yates talked about making a 5-year plan. Most of us cringed and were overwhelmed by this thought. But there is something comforting and practical about having a plan.
So here I am back at DigiLitSunday after a few weeks off, and I have no plan. I know that I want this meme to continue, but I feel like a failure as a leader. Where are we going? What is the purpose? What is the goal?
To alleviate my anxiety about this, I have a tentative topic plan for January:
- January 15: Fake vs. Real news: How do we teach our students to be discerning?
- January 22: Balancing Goals with Needs
- January 29: Digital Design
Please check in on the Google Doc. I’ve cleared the topic area, so add in new topic ideas. If you are not listed, please add your contact. My goal is to Tweet the topic on Thursdays.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve started blogging for Kidblog. My first post was published last week. Check it out here.
With a plan or without, if you wrote a DigiLitSunday post, please link below.
Margaret, this comment is for your Kid Blog site but it didn’t go through: Margaret, promoting writing with students is a strong act of commitment in the daily routines of the classroom. You are such a great supporter of writing and allowing your students’ voices to rise. I have enjoyed reading and sharing your students’ work over the past few years. Thank you for the experience.
Thanks, Carol. A new adventure in writing for me.
This post makes me chuckle. My sister, a math teacher, is a long range planner. She is single with no children so it is much easier for her to plan that way. Me, on the other hand, am a short term planner. Although I know what is going to happen, sometimes it is just getting through one day at a time. I think it is our math vs. english brains! I am thankful that you are continuing to lead this group. I think it is important although I many times feel I learn more than contribute.
That’s exactly why I don’t want to quit. I learn so much from everyone who posts. It’s a community, even if we don’t do very well with planning.
Margaret, I’m so glad to hear you are writing for Kidblog! Your experiences will guide other teachers and students. I will forward that blog and post to our English teacher. Also, thank you for continuing the DigiLit Sunday challenge. I hope to be more consistent, although, yes, my plans sometimes are interrupted. I did add DigiLit Sunday as part of my blogging goals for the year, so that is a plan… One more thing: I love your new header image! I plan to include building “love wins” actively this year by encouraging conversations of all kinds. Thanks for being the awesome inspiration you are! Sheri
The header is my sister’s art. I love it, too. I hope to spread more and more kindness in the years to come. I’ll welcome your posts whenever you can make it happen.
Margaret I want to thank you for continuing to include me in your shares and tweets. I feel like I fell off the wagon… My plan going into this school year was “survival mode” with having almost 90 eight to ten year olds to see each day. My plan for 2017 right now is to keep trying to keep up! Someday I’ll start blogging and posting and linking again…
For now I enjoy reading your musings and staying connected! Happy 2017!
Thanks, Heidi. What a huge load of kids! I’ll welcome you back whenever you can.
Margaret,
I love this post. Sometimes it seems like there is so much to know and do in the world and always like everyone is doing it better. It’s exhausting! I think the fact that you continue even when you’re not sure about the plan is both commendable and admirable. And actually as I finished reading your post I found that you do indeed have a plan… and you’re sharing the leadership with your blogging community. What a great example of a strong leader.
My plan is that I want to have a plan. Ha! The desire to be present here in this space drives me. Thanks for reading. Please consider joining our link ups. I put your name in the Google doc. Go fill it in!
[…] to Margaret Simon’s DigiLit Sunday Challenge, I have a way to meet my new blogging goals, as I’ve explained here. Margaret also writes for […]
I love, love, love planning. One of the biggest adjustments I had to make as a Teacher Librarian was that I was not sailing my own ship but co-piloting with teachers. Where I work, the two of us Librarians provide mostly enrichment and tutorial lessons for grade level teams to support learning standards. So, this planner is learning how to surf! I surf the waves of what’s needed, time to prepare for a lesson, what materials are available on short notice. I feel llike a cook on cutthroat kitchen some days. And, I’ve learned there is fun in that too! Viva la planning for surfers.