The best thing about teaching? A beautiful blank slate every August. This wall may look empty, but it has my brain buzzing with reading goals for the ‘19-‘20 school year. Here are three that I’m really excited about:

Read as diversely as possible, giving extra attention to underrepresented voices and power dynamics.

This one might be cheating, since it’s my #1 goal every year! But it’s a big wide world out there, and I love being a source of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for my readers.

Focus on our collection. 

I tend to read new titles from the public library, to preview them for purchase for our collection. It keeps me up to date on emerging kid lit (a full time job!), but frustrates my readers when they see a cover they love but can’t access. I plan to focus more on titles from our collection this year, for even better book connections and conversations.

Slow down.

I want to prioritize quality over quantity with my readers, but I haven’t been modeling it well. Slowing down, carefully absorbing the books that I read, and taking a moment to reflect before moving on to a new title will make me a better reader and teacher. It might sound weird to hope for a smaller cover wall, but I’m looking forward to an underwhelming performance 😜

Happy new year! Are you a goal setter? What are you hoping to accomplish between now and June?