Weighing the Options

Week 2: Discovering the Options

As a teacher, it is easy to discover the issues in the classroom that could be possible "wonderings" to put into an action plan. It is a bit harder however to look at the big school-wide picture when your mind is so focused on your class. In my first class, while I was beginning my internship, my assistant principal urged me to view everything more globally. If you are eventually heading out of the classroom into a school leadership position, you must be prepared to take on the role of a school leader.

My first instinct for my action research project was to look into parental involvement. While I am acting on this project (whether or not I document it as my project for my internship), I am also looking at other options that affect the school as a whole: tardy prevention, student motivation, and reaching the students who are more worried about what they may eat that night instead of when their homework is due.

So many potential projects are at our fingertips. We work and live in a ever-changing career. We must be ready to take risks in order to change OUR behavior to better suit the needs of our students.