Am I Doing Enough?

[Ben Rimes]

How often do you ask yourself "am I doing enough?" I've been blessed to have a number of fantastic role models in my life; both educators and leaders that have shown me that a truly dedicated teacher will always be asking themselves whether or not their instruction is getting better or worse?

No middle of the road here. Just as the sliding sands of a Lake Michigan dune will give way beneath your feet as you attempt an assent, so too will efficacy in the classroom slip from your grasp the moment you stop reflecting upon your methods. So it was this morning, the first day back from Christmas break, that I read through an enormous list of educators that are actively engaged in online netw..., found a post of 8 new typing websites, and realized that I have not achieved a great deal of what I hope to accomplish while serving on the MACUL board. Perhaps the problem is that with information coming from so many sources, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by how amazingly effective other educators around me are. Then again, perhaps I've been letting myself stand still for too long that my previous accomplishments aren't propelling my further anymore. Whichever is the case, I know that with this new year I need to do more; I need to read more, write more (especially write more), think more, and above all else, CREATE more.

Starting with aligning my lessons more closely to state content area expectations, and moving slightly away from the simple technology benchmarks and standards. Follow that up with a healthy dose of communication via MACUL Space, my personal blog, and other media, and I think that by lifting up my students' successes, I will again start to feel more successful. I know that I'll never be doing enough, but it feels good to at least give form to these thoughts, as I'm hoping it will prove to be a good catalyst.

[Ben Rimes]

Karen: The self criticism is meant to be that exactly, the driving force to improve my teaching and learning. Sometimes it gets the better of me, and I feel as though I need to wallow a bit, but then I go home, and my wife kicks me in the rear, or someone from the community here beats her to it, and I start to get motivated!