While a shared vision is essential to the success of a school, it is important for each member of a team, coming together to create a shared vision, to have their own goals, beliefs and understandings. These foundations help to guide teamwork; it provides individuals with background knowledge, connections to others and a hope for the future. In order to “contribute to the development, communication, and implementation of a shared vision for the comprehensive use of technology to support a digital-age education for all students” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011), I needed to first create my own mission statement:
As a librarian, it is my personal mission to: model a love of learning and discovery, demonstrate my passion to help students become lifelong learners; expose patrons to a place where children and adults come to collaborate, create, explore resources, and discover new worlds; and unearth ways to mirror what is happening in the classroom with the outside world, creating authentic experiences that foster a sense of joy for learning.
This mission statement is meant to serve as a reflection of who I am as a professional and what I hope to accomplish in the months and years to come. The words I have chosen are deliberate elements of who I am and what I do: model, discovery, passion, lifelong, collaborate, create, and explore.
By reflecting on my own values and intentions, I am able to serve as effective member of my school technology team:
- I am able to draw on my perspective as a school librarian;
- I can remain steadfast in my belief that library and technology skills are best taught when implemented into the classroom curriculum;
- I am able to convey my desire to create amble opportunities for connections to the outside world;
- and I am reminded to put joy at the center of learning and planning.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). ISTE standards: coaches. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-coaches