Standards, goals, objectives, for some reason they have been rattling around in my head for the last few days... all thanks to Bill Nye the Science Guy. Yes, the adorkable science video guy whom we all just love. This week I had the privilege of hearing him speak live at the STEM Symposium here in San Diego. His speech resonated with every educator in the room as he spoke about opening the minds of our students to the JOD (joy of discovery.) So this got me to thinking. What are MY learning goals for my students? What immediately came to my mind had NOTHING to do with Common Core, NETS, or other standards. It all had to do with the beauty of watching a child learn and discover. You know what I mean, those wonderful moments punctuated by an expletive such as "Ahhh," "Whoa," "Cool," or even better, What?!?" That being said, here is what I really want for the students with whom I work:

1. May you open your mind in order to experience the joy of discovery.
Isn't this why we teach? Of course it is! We want our students to become lifelong learners who continually seek to better themselves through study. But in order for this to happen, discovery has to occur in its natural, awe-inspiring, wonder-producing state. It certainly shouldn't be scripted away by a teacher's manual.

2. May you understand that asking the right question is more important than giving the right  answers.
We've all had those students who can read out loud beautifully, but lack comprehension skills; or the student who has memorized their multiplication facts, but has no idea how to apply mathematical theory to their lives. This is not the point of education. Creating critical thinkers is the point of education. Asking the right question, means that you understand the problem at hand. If you don't ask the right question, then the answer to it is of no use. If my students recognize this, then they can be the Louie Pasteur, Steve Jobs, or Picasso of their field; someone who asked the right question, and found an answer that changed the world.

3. May you attain a sense of accomplishment as you fail forward in order to reach a goal.
There is a lot of talk out there about failure, but failure means giving up. We want students who can persevere through setbacks, tribulations, and mistakes. This is the only way that honest-to-goodness discovery can take place. This is what it will take for one of my students to develop a cure for malaria or develop an inexpensive way to get water to drought stricken farmers.

4. May you discover that learning gives purpose to your life.
I truly hope that same idea, somewhere in my students' educational careers, will inspire them to do something wonderful with their lives. Will they invent a life-saving medical device that stems from their love of origami? Will they become a best-selling novelist, even though they found writing tedious, but still had creative ideas to share? Will they open a shop catering to a niche market of customers that only they had the compassion to understand? I certainly hope so!

5. May you merit the friendship that develops from working as part of a team.
Let's face it, you can be a genius, but if you are a jerk, no one wants to work with you. You have met these people before. They are brilliant, but working with them is so tiresome, that it's not sustainable. I absolutely do not want my students to be "that person." How you play is just as important as what you know, and sometimes even more so. If one of my students is to negotiate peace in the Middle East, then they'd better have well-developed social skills.

6. May you delight in the process of making the world a better place.
And now we get to the real reason I teach. I have admitted it repeatedly, and I remind my students daily. For me personally, the world is an amazing, beautiful, and love-filled place. However, this isn't the case for everyone in our world. I expect my students to make the world better than it is now. And I want to live in, and experience that world. This is their one true assignment, the one by which they, as a person, will be measured. THIS is the assignment where they most need to earn an A+. And darned it if I won't do my damndest to help them do it!

     There is a lovely retired teacher and writer who I run into on occasion in my neighborhood coffee shop.  Last week, he gave me his card and he described himself as purveyor of words.  Isn't that just like an author?  Describing something everyday and normal in a manner that makes you take a second look so you realize that it is in fact not everyday and normal.  Well, this sparked some thinking for me.  What do I do?  I teach.  But that answer doesn't even begin to describe what I do with my students.  A teacher just hands off knowledge to her pupils and that is certainly not what I do at all.  (Though I must confess, way, way, back, that might have been what I did.)
     So I asked myself, "If I don't teach, what do I do?"  Well... I help my kiddos learn how to find information, solve problems, and deal with adversity.  I help them become caring, helpful, concerned citizens who make the world a better place for others around them.  I help them look at the world to find beauty, wonder, and wrongs to be righted.  I work my butt off for them because they deserve my best, and they do the same for me!  I lay awake at night worrying about them and muddling over ways to best help them conquer the challenges they face.  I spend a great many of my waking hours researching, learning, and developing new and innovative ways to help them become better learners and nicer people.  But most of all... I love them!  Really, I can't help it.  They are just there... smiling or scowling at me, imperfect, hoping to do well, having good days and bad ones, making others smile, being naughty.  How could I not love all that?
     So back to the original question.  How do I put all of what I do into one short description, a job title?  That seemed to be quite the conundrum.  Hmmm... I thought about the fact that teaching, when done well, is truly an art form.  So what about an artist?  But most art is a static creation once finished, it doesn't continue to grow, change, and develop, at least not in the way people do.  So if not an artist what?  A chef?  A tour guide?  A gardener?  Yes.  That was it!  A gardener!  A garden, whether beautifully manicured, overgrown, or untended is continually changing and growing... just like my students.  The landscaper or arborist can make small changes that will have a lasting impact for years to come, but isn't in complete control.  That gardener is me!  Those plants are my students!  Some are tall and sturdy, with deep roots able to weather any storm.  Some are delicate flowers needing some extra care in order to bloom beautifully.  Some are the grass beneath your feet, warming your toes on a sunny day.  And with some tools, rain, and sun, we all work together to create something beautiful.  So it is decided.  If someone asks me what I do, my response is that I am a cultivator of minds.  I like the sound of that and all that it implies.  Now if I can just get the school administration to change my job title...