Goal Setting — De Mieux, En Mieux.

“I found that if you have a goal, that you might not reach it. But if you don’t have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya…it feels phenomenal.” — Peter La Fleur in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

 

I offer this nugget of “wisdumb” at the outset of this writing because my goal is to capture your attention on the topic of goal setting. Et voilà! Success in achieving this essential writing goal is, admittedly, quite hard to discern; however, I hope I have you now. The sentiment above, delivered tongue-in-cheek by actor Vince Vaughn in a brief line of movie dialogue, offers a wry philosophical perspective on the process of goal setting as posited in a sophomoric, though possibly entertaining, comedic film. At the outset of the underdog story, goal setting is decidedly not a part of Peter La Fleur’s professional practice, but as his team builds momentum, he does set goals for himself and takes steps to achieve them. You’ll have to watch the movie to see how things turn out; you’re going to have a hard time seeing what happens in this writer’s non-spoiler alert blindfold.

 

The movie’s humorous take on goal setting comes to mind now because it’s the 20th anniversary of the movie’s release into theaters; this milestone coincides with the nth year of professional goal-setting for faculty, staff and administrators at Brimmer and May.

 

Following here is a sample equal to 10% of the close to 200 professional goals set by approximately 70 of our faculty, staff, and administrators for the 24-25 school year to date:

As you can see, some goals are phrased as action statements while others are structured in the form of a question. Citing the end product and consideration of how to get there—the steps in the process—are both kickstarters for a reflective, action-oriented process to improve, grow, build, and achieve in one’s work both in the classroom and beyond it with the ultimate aim to build a ‘better and better’ school for our students. While there may be no goal posts to aim for in Dodgeball, there are plenty of them among the faculty, staff, and administrators at Brimmer and May who adhere to the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson when he says, “We aim above the mark to hit the mark.”