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Yesterday, I shared Eight Teaching Concerns I Have Going Into 2021.

I thought it would be a good reflective exercise for me to follow that post with one sharing my goals for the next year, and thought that at least a few readers might find them interesting.

1. Of course, one major goal is that the eight concerns I listed yesterday get prevented, or at least are substantially alleviated.  I’m not holding my breath that I bat a thousand, but I hope that the worst case in most don’t come true.

2. In addition to maintaining my own physical and mental health, as I included in my concerns yesterday, I hope that everyone in my family can stay healthy and get vaccinated at the earliest possible opportunity.

3. I also want to make it through the end of the school year with my love for teaching still alive.  Of course, during a “normal” school year, that wouldn’t be in question.  But I’m sure I’m not alone thinking it might not be a sure thing now.

4. Katie Hull and I should finally finish the second edition of the ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, which will be twice as long as the original.  We were first delayed by simultaneously editing three new books in the “Toolbox” series , which came out last spring (pro tip: never agree to edit three books at the same time) and, then, by the professional and personal chaos of the pandemic.  Though we have been able to do a little bit of work on it during this school year, most of our professional time has been devoted to just surviving distance learning.  Our target date for completing is September 1st.

5. Once the manuscript for that book is sent to the publisher, I will be able to begin another long-delayed book – my fourth book on student motivation.  It will be titled Building Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom: A Practical Guide.  You can access free resources from the previous three here.

6. I’d love to be back on the basketball court in a real game by the summer.  Weekly socially distanced games of HORSE aren’t the best substitute.

7. With luck, I’ll continue my posting here, my BAM! radio shows, and my Ed Week column (in the exciting new format!) relatively smoothly.

8. I hope we’ll all be back in our normal classrooms, with normal classes, by the fall.  I’m not sure if, assuming that happens, it will kick off a typical, harder or easier than usual school year, but I’ll be eager to see whatever it brings.

9.  Of course, like everyone else, I hope that before the end of the calendar year, we can all see friends and family face-to-face, eat at restaurants,  travel normally, and socialize in-person again.

What are your goals?