My One Word

VOICE.

When I joined a conversation with a broader education community during this past year, my teaching was transformed. I realized that everyone has something to contribute. We all have different experiences, locales, giftedness, and interests. I began to find my voice.

I like the way Malyn Mawby, a wise woman who blogs at Love2Learn, describes this. She wrote a great post called “Of Hopes and Dreams” where she shares about what she wants for her growing children. Her hope for her children is not just for “happiness,” which is vague. Instead, her hope is for her children “to find and use their voice.” Nice!

Voice has been on my mind lately, as I consider the one-year anniversary of the transformation of my teaching. I want to continue to grow and contribute, so I have decided to join the 30 Goals Challenge led by Shelly Terrell. The first goal is a Me Manifesto.

Today my manifesto, which is continually developing, centers around the word VOICE.

  1. I find ways for each of my students to develop and use his/her voice inside and outside of the classroom.
  2. I share my voice with the world.
  3. I join with other passionate educators and pre-service teachers who are finding and sharing their voices.

Throughout the challenge, I will share more about what drives me. It will be good to develop this manifesto over the course of the challenge.

My students’ latest project. They shared themselves and were very proud!