Personal mission statements for teachers

Undergraduate Philosophy and Guiding Principles Our candidates will become educational leaders who are caring teachers, competent educators and collaborative professional leaders C3TEP.

Just take a second and to stop and think. What draws you to teach in a Catholic school? God gives everyone a vocation—something that we are called to do with our life to serve Him on earth.

Therefore, we need to focus on our WHY. A couple years ago, my husband and I moved across town, and I was searching for a new job. I applied for jobs in a couple districts near our home, but after my interviews, I always felt like something was missing.

I had gone to Catholic school for my entire life, including Catholic college and graduate school, and had taught in three Catholic schools including my student teaching placement. So I spent time personally reflecting on where I felt God calling me professionally. I knew I was called to use my God-given gifts in Catholic schools, so I created my own Personal Mission Statement that I use to guide my teaching and reflect on when my days are rough.

So how do you create your own Personal Mission Statement? You begin by looking at four key aspects of your personal and professional life.

Who are you in your faith? Usually, one of the key requirements for teaching in a Catholic school is that you are Catholic especially if you will be teaching Religion as a subject. But we all come from different backgrounds in relation to our faith.

Some of us are converts and had an encounter with Jesus that led us to seek more, entering into the Catholic faith as adults. Some of us went to Catholic school. We all have different relationships with Jesus based off of our own personal experiences.

I am a Cradle Catholic. I know that I am a child of God, and I feel deeply connected to Mary. I am also passionate about the Saints and love to know random facts about the men and women who came before me and lived their faith in small and radical ways.

Who are YOU in your faith? What is your WHY? Why are you teaching in a Catholic school?The mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.

Sometimes mission statements are bad. Sometimes they are really bad. And sometimes they are just awful. Take a look at these nonprofit mission statements.

A personal mission statement describes and summarizes an educator’s beliefs, goals and accomplishments in the classroom; and it is a practical way for teachers to revise their general purpose or focus every few years.

Many other examples of personal mission statements are usually not suited for individuals because they are business missions. A personal statement must condense your personal ambitions and goals into an accurate declaration of what you have to offer to the world.

Many teachers do not have good answers; most have no such personal Mission Statement; most have not even written a long-term syllabus in which they lay out the key goals for learners (and parents) and how those goals will best be achieved.

So if mission statements are so critical that businesses often spend hundreds of hours crafting and fine-tuning them, why do so few people take the time to create their own personal mission statement?