Setting goals is the first step towards achieving success in life. I have set a goal that as a result of my teaching students should be able to know that they can make a difference. This is important because it gives me a starting point and a vision. It will act as a pushing factor and all my energy will be channeled towards assisting the students identify their strengths and weaknesses which will help them capitalize on the strengths and with my assistance work on their weak points. Another driving force towards achieving this goal is the fact that by setting it I am held accountable and therefore if the students fail to achieve it I will be responsible. Making a difference in life is very important but people have to believe in themselves first in order to change their lives through changing their environment. My teaching will focus on changing the mindset of the students and boosting their individual self-esteem by making them believe in themselves. This way they will not only make a difference in their class work but will also achieve a lot in life by working hard for their place in the society through believing they can make a change.
The first step toward achieving success is through creating the best environment for it through rightful thinking. It is said that everything in this world is created twice, first in the mind and then through action (Schwartz, 2001). This goal is achievable only when action follows rightful thinking. Setting achievable goal is a motivation because a teacher watches as the students benefit from their mentoring. For the goal to be achieved personalized attention is to be accorded to all students in order to understand what they feel about making a difference in their life as well as whether the goal is achievable. Through this process, positive change will be identified and the student commended for it as a way of motivating them to even achieve more as well as encouraging others. It is important to note that change whether positive or negative may be very difficult to manage and therefore the students will be counseled to make sure they are not discouraged or overexcited about initial changes to the result of failing to achieve the goal.
Achieving this goal depends with the level of encouragement and information that the students will get. Choosing the best forms of leadership and teaching styles is therefore, of paramount importance. In this case, I will make sure I incorporate three different teaching styles to develop an effective way of training the students. Using formal authority will ensure that students follow my advice and instructions as their teacher. However, this model has to be used together with that of being a facilitator as well as the demonstrator. Involving the students through listening to their real life experiences and trying to find solutions for the same will be essential. Study has shown that a class where students are involved in discussions is likely to understand more. Giving the students life experiences of other people who were considered failures but later proved to be achievers will also be effective in achieving this goal.
Goal setting is very important as it gives people a sense of direction by knowing what they want to achieve and putting all their effort towards achieving the set goals. People who fail to set goals tend to move in any direction by doing things haphazardly because they lack set programs to follow. Chances of achieving success are high to people who set specific goals because they are held responsible for failure to achieve and therefore, puts in extra effort.
Goal 2
As a result of my teaching, students will feel a sense of ownership for their education. This very important when it comes to achieving success because students own their education are likely to succeed. The main reason to this fact is because when students have a sense of ownership for their education, they attribute their success to their efforts, abilities and skills. This acts as a motivator to work hard and achieve even greater success. On the other hand, students who fail to own their education mainly have low self-esteem and attribute their success to luck. They fail to have the driving force to work hard because they do not believe that their abilities and skills alone are enough to make them achieve (Suskie, 2010). These students also blame the people around them including the teacher for their failures. I will therefore stress on students owning their education.
Since the goal is well spelt out, I will start by understanding each student’s areas of strengths and challenges and help them capitalize on their strengths as we together work on their weak areas. The students will be able to understand that they have potential and can achieve what they want in life. I will them make them understand that a teacher is a supporting figure who is supposed to offer guidance to them as they work hard to achieve their individual goals. This will ensure they are at ease to face the teacher and seek assistance. I will also encourage them to learn through past experiences and understand that failing is part of learning because it means that they have tried. This will also stop teasing among the students as they will take their failures as steps towards their success. I would also encourage working with other students as different students have different capabilities.
The connection between me and the students will create the right environment for learning because every person will be hungry for success and winning. The student will be yearning to achieve their goals through owning their education and I, the teacher, will consider myself successful when my students succeed. This is because my efforts in teaching and encouraging them will have been realized. The correct environment for learning is essential because it forms a sense of direction and every person becomes committed to their work in a bid to succeed. It also prevents distractions which is a major inhibitor to success.
Having a sense of belonging and owning education is one step toward succeeding as students who achieve this are able to attribute their success to themselves and therefore get motivated. This is achieved through encouragement by teachers as well as other students. Working together to form the right environment ensures success is achieved as the success of one party directly or indirectly affects one or more parties. For instance, the success of students becomes the success of their teacher and when the teachers succeed they become motivated to even deliver more. Owning ones education and setting achievable goals is therefore, an important practice.
References
Eikenberry, K. (2010). Setting Goals and Supporting Goal Setting Participant Workbook. San Fransisco: Wiley & Sons.
Schwartz, A. (2001). Goal Setting: Target Your Achievement. Waverly: Schwartz & Associates.
Suskie, L. (2010). Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide. New York: Wiley & Sons.
