Usually I set personal development goals at the start of each year. For instance, this is the year of The three C's: Confidence, Calm and Clarity. Because my working life is broken into teaching quarters I have begun to set quarterly intentions as well.
This quarter I am spending more time with students individually during class. This evolved out of a course last quarter in which my students worked so quietly and independently that I actually felt that their focus resulted in less opportunity for me to help them evolve their projects.
We are now into week 2 of an 11 week teaching quarter and I am getting to know each student and their career intentions in two of my five classes. In these courses the students are working on their personal and professional goals. I feel inspired by their ideas, outlooks and aspirations. Several have mentioned that this one-to-one time when we chat is encouraging them to give direction to their dreams.
In the past I have kept a distance from meeting individually with students in the classroom. I was still learning classroom management and distance felt safe and powerful. Now I realize that getting to know people as individuals, meeting them where they are and guiding them in moving forward, better fits my personal vision of helping people live their dreams.
As I continue into week 2 of classes I will be looking for opportunities for one-to-one conversations during lab time in my other three classes. The same is true for my yoga classes. This is becoming a heart-opening exercise and a practice in listening.
