This year, I hope to take a bit of what happens in my classroom and bring it into the community and beyond. I also wish to deepen my commitment to my own personal creative writing endeavors by writing more and seeking the input of colleagues, students, and fellow writers. Making this prospect a reality will invariably cause me to stretch and grow as an educator, as I will be interacting with different types of students from different backgrounds, providing mentoring opportunities for fellow educators and pre-service educators, immersing myself in the craft that I am responsible for teaching, and reflecting on my own performance on a regular basis.
Specific goals include the following:
1. Integrate student poetry and writing into our school community.
2. Present to pre-service teachers at Kean University regarding classroom management, student writing, community building in the classroom, etc.
3. Work closely with a non-profit agency in Union County to facilitate a writing workshop and open mic event for students all over New Jersey.
4. Work closely with our local library and other area venues to organize and implement at least two writing-based workshops and/or open mics for youth.
5. Create and gather input on my own creative writing from a variety of sources.
6. Organize a second year of Work in Progress, the county-wide high school writing workshop.
7. Update this blog with relevant information about progress, ideas, and outcomes.
Next topic: What I've done so far toward these goals
