Hopes & Dreams
9/6/2018
At the beginning of each school year, we guide students in creating their hopes and dreams for that year. In my classroom, it looks like discussing all of the exciting things that we will do together in kindergarten and having each student choose a few that they are most looking forward to. We display our hopes and dreams in some sort of project that is visible all year. (Stop in at drop off or pick up next week to see our self-portraits, which have students' hopes and dreams for kindergarten on the back.) This not only helps students become excited about the special things they will experience together during the year, but it provides a visual reminder and helps them begin to reflect as well. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Eleanor RooseveltThe goals of our sweet little ones might look different than those of their older peers or adults (who understand the abstract concept a bit better), but in articulating their hopes and dreams, our kindergartners, along with their older peers, are practicing the process of reflection, which leads to growth. As our students practice that process over and over and over again, it becomes second nature. A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement. - Bo BennetThe discussion of hopes and dreams lends itself well to the introduction of goals as well. Like hopes and dreams, goals are an abstract concept... but still an important one for even our littlest learners. Studies have shown that those with goals, especially written goals, are more likely to succeed. That statistic holds a powerful lesson. Those individuals who know and articulate what they want out of life are more likely to work towards and achieve it. At the beginning of each year, our students have the opportunity to pinpoint what they want for that school year. As the statistic shows, articulating their desires is a good habit for our students to develop. Recently the components of 21st Century skills have been expanded to encompass more of the skills necessitated by our diverse, digital world and marketplace. One of the new categories, life skills, includes flexibility, leadership, initiative, and productivity. These are things employers will be looking for, and they are also things that are difficult to teach in a traditional way. Articulating a dream or goal, reflecting on it, and working towards it builds all of these skills and will help our students as they figure out how they will contribute to our world. And isn't that always one of our biggest desires for our sweet little ones, that they would be good citizens of our world and contribute positively to it? In a marketplace that's demanding flexibility, leadership, initiative, and productivity, the ability to set and achieve goals is an invaluable skill. Goals may give focus but dreams give power. - John C. MaxwellTaking the time to articulate and discuss students' hopes and dreams not only helps them gain important life skills, but it also shows them that their dreams are important, that their hopes have strength, and that they are valuable. It shows them that it's worth reflecting on what they want and then working hard to achieve that desired outcome. Through this yearly tradition, we are encouraging our students to dream -both big and small- and then equipping them with the skills to make those dreams a reality (or to re-evaluate and adapt them, if need be). We think it's such an important activity that our staff reflects on our hopes and dreams for the school year at the beginning of each year as well. My dream for the year is that each one of my students will develop the courage to try new things and be his- or herself, and that our sweet little ones will realize that they are capable of so much more than they realize and can make a difference in our world, even now as a kindergartner.
Comments are closed.
|
Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
April 2021
Categories |