Do you actually sit down and set goals with your kids? Share your experiences!
I’m big on goal setting. I have my own mission and goals I visit often, and so do my kids. I read and listen to leaders in education and 21st century businesses announce that our kids need to not merely have a transcript to apply to higher education and employment, they need to have a portfolio of experiences that demonstrate their ‘soft’ skills of innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, emotional intelligence, resilience, leadership and vision.
Goal setting has an addition benefit. It causes us (and our kids) to consciously ask if what we are doing is making us happy. It helps us develop what Peter Benson of Search Institute callsSparksand what Sir Ken Robinson calls the Element. I would like to propose a Grow a Generation Portfolio, one that helps us record past accomplishments, set goals for future ones, and keep us centered on the seven 21st century skills our children need to thrive.
The Grow a Generation Portfolio has seven categories:
Creative Endeavors (I Made This)
Academic Pursuits (I Learned This)
Collaborative Partnerships (I Worked With)
Personal Milestones (Against the Odds)
Community Service (I Served Here)
Leadership Roles (I Made a Difference)
Dreams and Goals (Someday Soon)
Try these out when you work with your kids when you put away their school year and set their summer goals! I share below some ideas from the past and some of my fourteen year old, Ian’s, summer goals. What are your child’s? Can you share and help others with your ideas?
Category: I Made This
We have tried to encourage our children to create to share. Preschool art projects were given away to nursing home residents as we made visits, grand Lego projects and puzzles were disassembled, re-boxed, and given away to area daycares and community centers. Memories were kept digitally, with pictures (from all angles!) placed in an “I Made It” photo file. The computer, with backups, is a wonderful place to document creations as they are made. Past goals have included hooks made at a blacksmith’s forge, original sculptures for D&D supplies made at the local Art Center along with elaborate maps, wikis, and campaign descriptions created online using Obsidian Portal, science fair catapults, favorite essays and short stories, amazing doodles and Celtic knots, and the successful Multimedia Fusion created game. My son’s summer’s goals include ongoing work on a fantasy novel with a measurable goal of 100 words a week. He is in no hurry, not hoping to publish for another five years.
Category: I Learned This
School transcripts fit here, but so do the extra classes that they sign up for, scouting merit badges, online classes, weekend workshops, and summer camps. This category includes independent projects like practicing java programming using Project Euler, and working on merit badges. This summer’s goals include reading and acting in a Shakespeare Play which he’ll get to do through Sweetwater Center of the Arts.
Category: I Worked With
Learning collaboration is not just about forming your own community and inviting others in, it is discovered in joining other communities. In years past, we started a robotics club which grew into a FIRST Robotics Team. My daughter traveled to a Free the Children leadership conference and made lifelong friends from around the globe, participated in school plays, a string quartet, and prepared group performances for her school’s coffee shop. I also recall a stint as the manager of the school bowling league. My son established his own D&D game, seeking a network of support to help him develop his own Dungeon Master style. Relationships have grown with mentors matched in science fair projects, Tang Soo Do drill team members preparing for creativity competitions, and a small group of scouts working together to learn about hiking and backpacking. This summer’s goals include the Seabase Out Island Adventure in the Florida Keys.
Category: Against the Odds
These are often long term goals with only increments. They include Marathons, Certifications, Gold Awards, Eagle Scout Rank, Black Belt Rank, Olympic Gold Medals, Newberry Awards, Art Gallery Shows, Intl Science Fair Wins. Some of the mentionables in this category include places traveled to, mountains climbed and coral reefs explored. This summer’s goals include incremental progress toward 3rd Degree Black Belt and Eagle Scout.
Category: I Served Here!
Community service has included for our family service to our church, service in the community as a scout, service to the poor through Free the Children and leaders today. Jess has traveled to Africa and the Dominican Republic to serve as a volunteer. Ian has volunteered at the local library and community center as a mentor for younger kids. Summer plans include helping at several robotics camps and friend’s Eagle projects. Keep an eye out for upcoming details of the Grow a Generation Volun-Tour trip to the Dominican Republic in October for families with children grades six and up.
Category: Leadership Roles
Leadership roles demonstrate in a Grow a generation portfolio that our children have begun to realize that they can be a positive force in the world. Whether their role was in student council or team captain, scouting leader, or rising to be an assistant instructor in martial arts, completed leadership opportunities can demonstrate a child’s ability to respond to competitive strategies, handle crises, deal with loss, and resolve ethical dilemmas in ways that bring forth the best from themselves and others. Middle and high school teens hold a position of awe and authority of children and can serve (with training) as excellent mentors and assistant activity leaders. This summer’s goals include serving as a math tutor for a curious ten year old.
Category: My Dreams and Goals
This is your child’s mission and goals. Have they listed their childhood dreams, made a vision statement, considered their gifts and talents, discovered what sparks their passion? The Grow a Generation handbook “Writing a Vision Statement” has tools and resources to help. A great question to ask is what would your child would do with infinite time, money and resources. Ian’s is, “To create a online D&D game that includes being able to try all the options that you can do within a live D&D game. From realistic character development to complex battle maneuvers.”
What are your child’s summer goals? Do the Grow a Generation Portfolio categories help? What other categories are needed?
The Grow a Generation Portfolio
Creative Endeavors (I Made This)
Academic Pursuits (I Learned This)
Collaborative Partnerships (I Worked With)
Personal Milestones (Against the Odds)
Community Service (I Served Here)
Leadership Roles (I Made a Difference)
Dreams and Goals (Someday Soon)
Share your comments!
