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Welcome back to blooming curious
and a very happy 20 25 to you.

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I'm back after a few weeks off and
I'm chomping at the bit to get going

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and take all the Christmas decorations
down and get stuck into 2025 with

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renewed energy and enthusiasm.

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How about you?

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How are you feeling about the coming year?

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Of course the new year doesn't come
without new year's resolutions.

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Right.

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Have you made any?

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I learned a long time ago, not to
make any resolutions and that way I

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don't feel guilty about breaking them.

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But I'll tell you what does keep me on
track is having small, actionable goals.

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I have set goals for blooming curious
and they are centered around serving

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educators even more by actually not
getting bogged down in all the minutae.

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of running a blog and a podcast.

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But rather focus on the big things.

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Things like getting people to the
site and getting people to listen.

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And some other developments that
I will share with you very soon.

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So I've got my action plan
written down and I have the

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steps in place to get there.

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If I was still permanently
in the classroom, I would be

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doing the exact same thing.

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And I think that so often we teachers
are so exhausted,  that we think,

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well, I'm just going to copy and paste
last year's plans and be done with it.

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But experience has taught me that
that idea never works out very well.

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The students and their learning
needs are different to last year.

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And quite honestly, because I get bored of
doing the same thing over and over again,

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I have to reevaluate and change things to
keep things fresh and exciting, not just

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for the students, but for myself too.

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. And of course I did keep the same timeline
and perhaps some of the picture books I've

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used in the previous year, but there are
always new and exciting books to read and

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include a new ideas that I pick up along
the way that I want to include as well.

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And since we are at the start of a
new year, I think it's very fitting

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to talk about setting our goals.

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And today I want to guide
and help you do that.

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I also have a free goal-setting
tool for you that I will share

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with you at the end of the episode.

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So keep listening.

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So apart from being really boring and
not meeting the needs of new students,

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why should we bother to goal set at all?

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Well, let's just face one obvious fact.

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The days of children sitting
passively filling out worksheets,

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just doesn't cut it anymore.

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The rise of technology means that children
are becoming bored and disengaged far

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more leading to classroom management
struggles and even worse, missed

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opportunities for deeper learning.

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And this means that recycling last
year's lesson plans without some

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kind of reflection, means not only
missed opportunities for our students.

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But missed opportunities for
our own personal growth too.

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Remember what Einstein said, insanity
is doing something over and over again

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and expecting a different result.

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So if we want children to be more engaged
and enjoy learning, and if we want to

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cultivate curiosity and ignite a passion
in our students, Then we need to innovate.

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And the place to start is with a
reflection of how we did last year before

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we can start setting goals for this
new year or new term, we need to look

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back at what worked, and what didn't.

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There are three questions

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I want you to reflect on.

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One, what lessons or strategies
truly engaged your students?

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Bear in mind.

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That being busy with a heads down
doesn't necessarily mean they're engaged.

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You know that kids are engaged
when they're asking questions, when

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they're responding to questions, when
they try taking notes, when they're

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motivated, and they feel excited to
learn, and when they can connect what

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they're learning to everyday life.

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The second one is where did you struggle,

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and what can you learn
from those challenges?

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Where did you struggle last year?

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And what can you learn
from those challenges?

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Because if we don't look back at
what perhaps didn't go so well,

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we're just going to repeat those
same mistakes when we regurgitating

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last year's programs, right.

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And the third question that I'd like
you to reflect on is how can you create

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rewarding experiences for you and your
students because teaching isn't just

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about kids learning and having fun
teaching is also about you having fun.

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And here's the thing.

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Reflecting

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isn't just some lame time filler.

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Reflection is about building
a roadmap for the future.

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A map, that will take you from where
you are now  or where you ended last

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year to where you want to be with
your students, where you want to be

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in the end of the term or the end of
the semester or the end of the year.

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And one good thing about thinking
about these questions and writing

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them down, once you've done that.

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Now you can set your goals for
the new year or the new term.

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Goal setting  can transform your life.

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And when you're talking about
teaching, it can certainly

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transform your teaching practice.

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Guys in any walk of life, you
will find that those that achieve

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success, set goals for themselves.

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I've seen it very recently
with my very own son.

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He just graduated from his degree.

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But in true a type personality style,

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he wasn't content to just pass his goal
was to pass with a first class honors.

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And on his wall, he had all
these milestones and goals

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written down and sticky notes.

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There were like wallpaper
all over the show.

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He had everything on a timeline and as he
achieved each goal, he would cross it off.

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Having this visual roadmap
in front of him every day.

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Kept him working toward his target.

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And you know what?

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He achieved, absolutely everything he set
out to do because he stuck to the roadmap.

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And goal setting is not something
you write down somewhere,

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and then you forget about it.

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If you truly want to achieve success.

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You have to have your goals up on a
wall where you can see them every day.

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If your goal is to lose weight or
exercise more, you have to have that

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on your calendar, on the wall where
you can see it every day and tick

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off each session as you've planned.

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That's the only way
you'll stay consistent.

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The visual reminder and the physical
action of ticking things off.

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Is what keeps you going?

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Goal setting helps you focus your energy.

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It helps you work towards
meeting your goal.

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Just like my son did.

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Goal setting for your teaching is
also going to boost student engagement

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because you're going to align your
goals with your students' needs.

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And you're going to design lessons that
capture their attention and get them

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interested in deep learning, not just that
shallow stuff when they're just swiping

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and tapping mindlessly on a screen.

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And thirdly goal setting is going to help
you stay motivated because you'll have

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your milestones in front of you and you're
going to reflect, and you're going to tick

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them off as you achieve each one of them.

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And that's, what's
going to keep you going.

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And lastly goal setting is
going to make you feel alive.

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It's going to push you out of your
comfort zone to try new strategies and

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develop, as you grow as an educator.

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I told you that I have a tool
to help you achieve success.

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And I've created

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the teachers goal setting
planner just for you.

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I'm giving it to you for free
and it's designed to help

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you reflect on the past year.

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To set goals.

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And simple, actionable steps
to track your progress.

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And this planner is there to help you make
your teaching practice more impactful,

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more intentional, and more enjoyable.

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Go and get it  at resources dot
bloomingcurious.com/goals I'll leave

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a link in the show notes for you.

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Print it off, or you can
fill it in on your computer.

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And then most importantly, Put it
somewhere where you can see it every day.

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You can also take your goals.

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I've given you space for three goals
and write them down at the top of each

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week in your diary or your teacher
planner, so that they are front of

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mind as you plan your lessons and
your learning experiences each day.

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So that's it for today.

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And if you enjoyed listening to this
episode, please leave a review and

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click on those three little dots and
then share it with one other person.

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It's the only way that we can grow
the show is by sharing it with

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more people, and leaving a review
and ultimately everyone benefits.

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So again, click on the show notes to
download your free goal setting planner.

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Leave a review and share
the show with a friend.

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Thank you.

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I'm so grateful to you.

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And until next week, can you remember
that curiosity is your superpower.

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And just stay blooming, curious.