As a Special Education teacher this section of the book really challenged me and I’m still grappling with because so much of my work focuses on goal-setting and measuring progress. I agree with Venet that SMART goals stem from a corporate mindset and yet I also have seen students make progress when the student, family, and teachers understand and agree on the specific goals they’re working toward. Now that I’m thinking about it, to be honest, I think SMART goals can work as long as there’s student agency and voice in choosing their goals. The part of SMART that I’ve always had difficulty with is the T - there are just so many factors with humans - let alone children - to make every goal “time-bound” especially guaranteeing it within one school year…this gave me a lot to think about! Looking forward to reading others’ thoughts
I really appreciate this response—and always find it really meaningful to lean into the perspective of those in Special Education roles as it is an important push for my own thinking as a classroom teacher. So first off, thank you for this comment!
I agree that there is a lot of value in a well-considered, individualized goal where everyone is at the table authentically in designing it. We should push for that more!
But a lot of SMART goal experiences for me have been designed from a teacher lens for all their students rather than individualized for where different students are at—and then, as a teacher with 180+ students in my English classes, the idea of responding authentically to 180 different goals is also quite overwhelming, too (which is where we end up with standardized, generic top-down SMART goals as a result, I think).
I think most of us agree on the ideal, but we're working in a reality that often doesn't support that ideal—and then it becomes a series of lose-lose choices, I think...
I really resonated with Venet's change process opportunities. Each of her opportunities are things I deeply care about. I'm most hopeful about using the change process to "practice care and be more human together." As Venet states on page 60, "care happens in community." My classroom community is something I unapologetically put above everything else; even academics.
The synergy between this chapter and your classroom was jumping off the page for me—something I really respect is how you live out that value with the choices you make as a teacher.
On my end, how to make that happen organically across six very-different classroom communities without my hairline receding even further than it already has, haha? That's the question I'm left with for now.
That’s an excellent point! I realize now that you have six different classroom communities every day. Wow! That is quite a challenge. I’m curious. Do you think that a HS AP Lit classroom community requires different things than an elementary fifth grade class?
I have 3 sections of English 10 and 3 sections of AP Literature, so it's definitely a balancing act to think about what set-up + systems works for both of those quite-different classrooms—and that's before factoring in the variance between them.
For me, the challenge is leaning into authentic, student-driven change (such as what you share about your own classroom) as I want to be able to honor that change sustainably, and if different classrooms move in different directions...that leaves me in a tough spot.
Going to your question, then, I think what many secondary teachers experience is this constant straddling—not to mention the challenge of trying to form a community in a classroom when students are going to 6-7 other classrooms daily, too.
I’m also cognizant that my relentless dedication to building strong relationships with my students, sometimes above teaching academic content, is full of challenges. Am I doing right by my students when we pause learning content to address an issue with our community? What are my blind spots?
Such a great insight, especially highlighting that SMART targets - for all the hype - are both corporate in their origins and, as evidence shows, not necessarily effective by default.
I personally like the Specific element because, without it, achievement and growth are so hard to track - but this isn’t a given that it works either.
Totally! Like all things education, I think it comes down to the judgment of the individual teacher about what works and doesn't work for their students.
For me, being able to name goals at the beginning of the year and celebrate with students and families when we hit them? A very cool thing that I continue to do. But I also have been in places where the goals, particularly those set from above, confined my own flexibility and imagination as a teacher—and for me that is where the line was crossed.
It’s so easy as well for a target to become a ceiling and if you judge it poorly then they can stagnate. I always felt this at university - if I read the exemplar essays, I achieved a similar mark. If I didn’t, my marks were higher.
I am a little behind and just finished Chapter 3….so excited to think about the Rest Area on page 59, “the change process is an opportunity to….”. As one of the people often “leading” the change, this chapter has some excellent reminders and new learning about how to make change a community process, and how to center those who are often not centered. I will be thinking about this as I experience some of the coming changes, and also as I design, navigate and lead change with our community. And looking forward to being fully caught up in time for this weekend’s discussion real time!
I definitely have straddled roles as far as a "change" and recognize how "being efficient + effective" as far as my intentions can actually look like excluding authentic consideration of the views/ideas of others. This chapter definitely was a self-check for me in several ways, but especially around this focus.
Thanks for chiming in! What change opportunities are you preparing for? I’m excited at the prospect of applying the precepts of this book in my day-to-day teaching. I look forward to hearing how you apply them, too.
As a Special Education teacher this section of the book really challenged me and I’m still grappling with because so much of my work focuses on goal-setting and measuring progress. I agree with Venet that SMART goals stem from a corporate mindset and yet I also have seen students make progress when the student, family, and teachers understand and agree on the specific goals they’re working toward. Now that I’m thinking about it, to be honest, I think SMART goals can work as long as there’s student agency and voice in choosing their goals. The part of SMART that I’ve always had difficulty with is the T - there are just so many factors with humans - let alone children - to make every goal “time-bound” especially guaranteeing it within one school year…this gave me a lot to think about! Looking forward to reading others’ thoughts
I really appreciate this response—and always find it really meaningful to lean into the perspective of those in Special Education roles as it is an important push for my own thinking as a classroom teacher. So first off, thank you for this comment!
I agree that there is a lot of value in a well-considered, individualized goal where everyone is at the table authentically in designing it. We should push for that more!
But a lot of SMART goal experiences for me have been designed from a teacher lens for all their students rather than individualized for where different students are at—and then, as a teacher with 180+ students in my English classes, the idea of responding authentically to 180 different goals is also quite overwhelming, too (which is where we end up with standardized, generic top-down SMART goals as a result, I think).
I think most of us agree on the ideal, but we're working in a reality that often doesn't support that ideal—and then it becomes a series of lose-lose choices, I think...
I really resonated with Venet's change process opportunities. Each of her opportunities are things I deeply care about. I'm most hopeful about using the change process to "practice care and be more human together." As Venet states on page 60, "care happens in community." My classroom community is something I unapologetically put above everything else; even academics.
The synergy between this chapter and your classroom was jumping off the page for me—something I really respect is how you live out that value with the choices you make as a teacher.
On my end, how to make that happen organically across six very-different classroom communities without my hairline receding even further than it already has, haha? That's the question I'm left with for now.
That’s an excellent point! I realize now that you have six different classroom communities every day. Wow! That is quite a challenge. I’m curious. Do you think that a HS AP Lit classroom community requires different things than an elementary fifth grade class?
I have 3 sections of English 10 and 3 sections of AP Literature, so it's definitely a balancing act to think about what set-up + systems works for both of those quite-different classrooms—and that's before factoring in the variance between them.
For me, the challenge is leaning into authentic, student-driven change (such as what you share about your own classroom) as I want to be able to honor that change sustainably, and if different classrooms move in different directions...that leaves me in a tough spot.
Going to your question, then, I think what many secondary teachers experience is this constant straddling—not to mention the challenge of trying to form a community in a classroom when students are going to 6-7 other classrooms daily, too.
I’m also cognizant that my relentless dedication to building strong relationships with my students, sometimes above teaching academic content, is full of challenges. Am I doing right by my students when we pause learning content to address an issue with our community? What are my blind spots?
Such a great insight, especially highlighting that SMART targets - for all the hype - are both corporate in their origins and, as evidence shows, not necessarily effective by default.
I personally like the Specific element because, without it, achievement and growth are so hard to track - but this isn’t a given that it works either.
Love this outlook. Thank you.
Totally! Like all things education, I think it comes down to the judgment of the individual teacher about what works and doesn't work for their students.
For me, being able to name goals at the beginning of the year and celebrate with students and families when we hit them? A very cool thing that I continue to do. But I also have been in places where the goals, particularly those set from above, confined my own flexibility and imagination as a teacher—and for me that is where the line was crossed.
It’s so easy as well for a target to become a ceiling and if you judge it poorly then they can stagnate. I always felt this at university - if I read the exemplar essays, I achieved a similar mark. If I didn’t, my marks were higher.
I am a little behind and just finished Chapter 3….so excited to think about the Rest Area on page 59, “the change process is an opportunity to….”. As one of the people often “leading” the change, this chapter has some excellent reminders and new learning about how to make change a community process, and how to center those who are often not centered. I will be thinking about this as I experience some of the coming changes, and also as I design, navigate and lead change with our community. And looking forward to being fully caught up in time for this weekend’s discussion real time!
I definitely have straddled roles as far as a "change" and recognize how "being efficient + effective" as far as my intentions can actually look like excluding authentic consideration of the views/ideas of others. This chapter definitely was a self-check for me in several ways, but especially around this focus.
Thanks for chiming in! What change opportunities are you preparing for? I’m excited at the prospect of applying the precepts of this book in my day-to-day teaching. I look forward to hearing how you apply them, too.