Hopes and Dreams

This year tested us, our students, and their families as everyone worked to meet new and challenging expectations. Yet our students, when faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, were able to both learn academic skills and build social and emotional skills. As we close out a school year full of challenges,…

This school year, more than ever, teachers have been labeled by many as superheroes. According to Wikipedia, “a superhero or superheroine is a stock character that possesses abilities beyond those of ordinary people, who typically uses his or her powers to help the world become a better place, or is…

Showing Students What Is Possible The language we use with students every day influences how they see themselves. Our words can shape students’ views of themselves years after our direct influence. Envisioning language gives children a vision of what is possible. Many of us can remember someone from our past…

Watching a student show up to school each day excited to learn is one of the great joys of teaching. We give our students that spark when we help them figure out what they want to achieve during the school year, then show them the ways they can achieve those…

Recently I was in a school conducting observations, and I noticed that all of the classrooms were picture-perfect. The decorations on the walls looked like an advertisement for a teacher store, and would make some avid pinners jealous! As I watched the students in the class work, gather supplies, and…

Taking proactive steps to build a strong learning community, with practices like positive teacher language, interactive modeling, and investing students in rules through Hopes and Dreams, does a lot to prevent misbehavior before it starts. However, there will still be occasions when you need to respond to misbehavior. These moments…

As we prepare for our upcoming Teachers and Leadership Conferences, we’ve been thinking a lot about hope. Students’ hopes and dreams are, of course, an integral part of the beginning of the school year. In addition to providing students with a model for setting and achieving goals, having students name…

“What are your hopes and dreams for the school year?” Many teachers ask this question in the first weeks of school to help students get excited about learning and make a personal connection to what they will learn in school. Inviting students to name learning goals (hopes and dreams) right…

Six months ago, a second grader at Roundtown Elementary, a K–3 school in York, Pennsylvania, brought a simple idea to a whole-school assembly—to place a bench on the playground for students who feel lonely and want someone to play with—and the story went viral. First, the “buddy bench” idea was…

Recommending children's books that teachers can use to begin talking about goal-setting and with their students has become an annual ritual for me. (Here are my picks for 2011 and 2010.) This year I found so many that I can't even share them all! Hope and optimism are apparently alive…

Recently, I ran the Rock 'n' Roll USA 2012 Marathon in Washington, DC. At about mile 19 of the 26.2 mile run, I realized that the goal time I'd set for myself was not achievable. For the next mile or so, I felt defeated—I had done so much work towards…

A recent post on Facebook for more ideas about books to use with hopes and dreams made me think about why some stories work so well to inspire children to think about what they want to accomplish in school and beyond. I think it's because so many great picture books…

The early weeks of each new school year offer teachers distinct opportunities and challenges. It is during this time—when expectations and routines are established, rules generated, and goals articulated—that the foundation is laid for a productive and cooperative year of learning. As teachers, we work hard to convey, from the…

"My goal is to get into shape this year." "My resolution for this year is to get to know my students better." "I want to do more professional reading this year." "My goal is to give kids more choice about their learning." "I want to be the best teacher I…

In the hustle and bustle of the beginning of back-to-school time, have you thought about your goals for learning and growth for this year? I recently talked with a principal who was planning a time for staff at her school to reflect on this important topic. The conversation made me remember the…

For teachers who use the Responsive Classroom approach, talking with students about hopes and dreams (or hopes and goals) is a key activity during the first weeks of school. This discussion launches the rule-making process and helps children create rules that they have a real stake in: rules that will…

By now you probably know how much I love children's books! Here are some that would be perfect for launching a discussion of hopes and dreams—the first step in the Responsive Classroom approach to creating classroom rules with students. Last winter I shared a few read-aloud ideas in a post…

Reflection and goal-setting are often a focus for adults in January, when the beginning of a new calendar year prompts us to think about what we've accomplished and what we hope to do next. You can bring this reflective, purposeful energy into your classroom by having your students revisit the…

A few weeks before school ended last year, I wrote my fourth grade students notes stating a “hope and dream” for each of them as they moved on to fifth grade. My goals were to help them feel proud of their accomplishments over the year and to encourage them to…

Setting and working toward goals with students is a key element of my work as a speech/language pathologist. Each student I work with has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which names goals for that child. After reading Rules in School I realized that the “hopes and dreams” process described in…

On a winter afternoon, a group of third graders has settled down for a class discussion. Their teacher, Nancy Kovacic, holds the book the children made last fall—pictures and words embodying their social and academic aspirations for the year. "Who remembers," she asks, "way back to September when we wrote…

I love the beginning of each school year with the coming of fresh new faces to excited to learn. Most of my students have been to kindergarten and come to first grade with some ideas and expectations about what they’ll be doing there. But they also come with an eagerness…