Week 1, Goals & Ninjas

Let's all do the dance of joy as we check off Week 1. Once again to my astonishment, I survived.

My Little Ninja Protector

OK, so maybe just maybe I wasn't so astonished, but now that Week 1 is done, I need to turn my attention to all those nagging things that need attending to before they become those kind of things none of us want. You know, like those things that will get you fired.

Somewhere I have sheet a paper that says I need to turn in some sort of department goal for this school year. Since I am a department of one, I asked myself, "Self, just what sort of goals should we have this year?"

If most of you are like me or my Self, you have goals that you turn in to the PBs. And by PBs,  I'm not talkin' about Peanut Butter here. No siree, Missy, we're talkin' about those Powers That Be.

Most of us write PB goals that sound something like this… "Students will learn blah blah blah that will provide them with blah blah blah to successfully integrate blah blah blah utilizing existing technology and resources blah blah blah…"

Given that formula, I can pretty much knock out my PB goals pretty speedy quick. Mine probably will go something like this: "Students will learn skills that will provide them with the tools to successfully integrate and expand their print journalism skills into a web-based journalism site."

We all know, though, that PB goals are not really real goals. While our PB goals are turned in and make their way to the bottom of someone's filing cabinet or in a box in Warehouse 13, our real goals don't get turned in anywhere. Hails bails, most of the time they don't even make it out of our brain.

So, shhhhhhh, I'll share mine with you. Drum roll, pah-leese… Richie's real goal for this school year is simply this…

I will become Ninja teacher. I will fly under the radar. I will not fly above the clouds. 

I even have a little Ninja guy my BFF Jennifer gave me. I wear him around my neck along with my ID badge and room keys. According to the little card that came with him, my little Ninja guy supposedly will hide me from my enemies.

Trust me, I need all the help I can get.

I even dressed in all black the other day. Stealth. That's me. I am Ninja teacher.

When I told some of my school teacher buddies about me flying under the radar, there was a tad bit of snickering.

And maybe just a bit of smirking.

Oh all right, yes there was some betting going on, too, on just how long this Ninja thing will last.

Well, I just have one thing to say to y'all Ninja Naysayers and Haters, "I am Ninja… you won't hear me roar."