#OneWord2016

Last year my #OneWord2015 was AGENCY. I'm still enamored with the word because I believe wholeheartedly the real "transformation" that needs to take place in education is the empowerment of our students to be agents of their own learning.

So I was really stumped. How could I pick a new #OneWord2016 when I'm still working through last year's word? (I think that word alone will continue to evolve for me - and for education - over the next decade!) I continued to ponder the word AGENCY and all that it has come to mean to me this past year.

In the hopes of getting inspired, I read other people's posts, including The Bloggess, Mark's Musings, Miss Kit Kat, Learning About Learning, and Living Avivaloca. I felt very inspired by each of those blogs, and they really moved me to think. I especially loved that Aviva chose "hearing" because unless we make the effort, we often don't hear what others are telling us. Without careful listening, we stand to miss so much!

Then I read David Fife's Perspectives and I was actually quite envious. His word is "mindfulness". I wished I had picked "mindfulness"! "Mindfulness" is strongly connected to "metacognition" for me, but it is far more beautiful.

I sat and pondered these posts thinking how each impacted me differently, how my thinking was extended and strengthened with each new post.

In his post David wrote that there are 3 simple steps to find your "One Word - Prepare Your Heart, Discover Your Word, Live Your Word."

So as I sat and pondered, and as I attempted to prepare my heart, I realized that my word had been with me all along. My #OneWord2016 is PONDER.

This year, as I learn to be a Vice Principal in a new school community, I want to be sure to think things through carefully before arriving at any conclusions; I want to contemplate all possibilities before making any decisions. I want to think deeply. I want to attentively listen to what others are saying and mindfully reflect on what I don't hear. This year I want to PONDER.