My Mission Statement

It is my mission to…

  • Develop self-directed, independent problem-solvers;
  • Prepare students to be leaders;
  • Model to students wonder, excitement and curiosity about the world;
  • Let the students do the thinking;
  • Teach students to learn how to learn; and,
  • Treat others as myself and model that behavior to my students.

Why this mission?

My Mission Statement is more than a motto or a t-shirt slogan, it directs every interaction I have with students. My overarching goal is to “teach myself out of a job” with students; to provide them with the necessary skills to solve problems and move forward, while reducing my role with students as a decision-maker.

This means that I try never to do something for students that they can do themselves, or to give them something that they can get for themselves. I want them to come to rely less on me, and to rely more on themselves to make decisions and solve problems. In other words… “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day, if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”

If I can help students to learn to direct themselves, to analyze problems and try solutions, to become leaders, to influence others in their class or team, to motivate others to better themselves, to learn to love learning, to grow as thinkers, to learn how to learn for themselves even in unfamiliar situations, and to treat others cordially and kindly…if I can do this, then I believe I’ve taught something much more valuable than any test could assess. I truly feel this is just as important as any math, science, reading, writing or social studies I could teach students.

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This page last updated August 25, 2020 @ 6:33 am.