I am a special education teacher.

In addition to writing lesson plans, implementing interventions, incorporating social-emotional learning into the day, putting on a show for my students, differentiating instruction, collaborating with colleagues, working with parents and families, AND SO MUCH MORE, I am also required to be a data analyst.

There are many educators who will argue that collecting data on students is unnecessary and that “teachers should just teach.”

I respectfully disagree.

Through the data I collect, I am able to discover whether an intervention is effective for a particular student. By digging into the data, I am able to pinpoint my students’ strengths and areas of need. With this information, I am able to determine whether my students are on track to meet their annual goals.

So you can’t just teach without data guiding your instruction. That’s like walking around with your eyes closed. And that’s just dangerous.

After talking to Anh last week, I realized that I was setting my kids up for success by creating SMART goals for them, but I wasn’t really applying this tactic on myself.

 

When I write my student’s IEP goals, I take into consideration 1) their area of need, 2) the grade-level standard, 3) the short-term objectives that will help me determine whether they are on track, and 4) the tools and resources that will help them reach each goal.

I don’t know why it’s never occurred to me to develop goals for myself in the same manner.

Yesterday I went to lululemon and noticed a vision board hanging on one of the walls. Every employee at the store was encouraged to create a vision for their ideal life. They were then asked to set personal, health and career goals to achieve that vision.

When I got home, I looked up their template online and spent some time creating my own vision board. I wasn’t going to post the entire thing here because part of me thinks this doesn’t need to be read by anyone but myself. But, when I look at the way in which I share my student’s goals in order to effectively communicate and collaborate with everyone involved, I realize that I need to do the same. When you share your goals, you gain a support system that will hold you accountable. You open yourself up to conversation around your goals so you can gain different perspectives and knowledge to help you achieve them.

I’ve printed out a few copies of this and plan on putting it everywhere. Because I don’t want to walk around with my eyes closed. That’s dangerous.