This week I am attending Independent School Management’s conference on “Leading the 21st Century Elementary School”. I have been profoundly improved as a leader and educator, and am determined to wrest from all I’ve been inundated with this week a way to bring tangible opportunities for growth into my practice as teacher and educator back at TPS.

Woven throughout the entire week has been the constant reminder of the equal importance of leading and educating in a way that is moved by mission and centered on children. Institutions are not the only organisms driven by mission, people are as well. One of the exercises they asked of us early on was to, through a variety of steps, create a personal mission statement:

I exist in order to explore my world inside and out, give genuine care for others, and promote reflective growth, creativity, and connectedness in my personal and professional communities.

One of the leaders encouraged us to try and choose three distinct words for ourselves that represent who we are personally and professionally. A “tag line” of sorts.

Connect. Explore. Create.