College Education Time

In 1994, Jeff Bezos and a crew of five employees set out on the wildly audacious mission to create “the earth’s most customer-centric company.” At around the same time, back when their office was a Stanford University dorm room, Sergey Brin and Larry Page pledged “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

These goals are unimaginably far-reaching, nearly to the point of insanity. Yet despite the unwieldy scope of their stated missions, both Amazon and Google have experienced tremendous growth—to the point where these companies’ sagas have become legends in the popular culture.

The close correlation between setting high goals and later accomplishment extends beyond the technology start-up landscape. And it makes intuitive sense—having a vivid picture of your aspirations is simultaneously focusing and motivating, whether on the level of individual, corporation, nation or classroom.

I returned from Teach for America training in the Delta with more teaching strategies than mosquito bites (and I had A LOT of mosquito bites). Now, I’m trying to take a cue from Jeff, Sergey and Larry, and chart an ambitious and measurable course for where my students will be academically at the end of the year.

I’ve established goals in the past (i.e. get into college, and most recently, find a job) but I was the only beneficiary of the relative success or failure of attaining these aims. It’s funny to feel so fervently wrapped up in the welfare of a class of Chemistry students I have yet to meet.

Moreover, articulating professional goals in indelible ink holds you frighteningly accountable, and sounds a daunting call for personal challenge.

So, instead of ink, I’ll articulate this nascent thought on the even less forgiving record of the World Wide Web. My vision is that by the end of the course, every single one of my students will be able to score at least a 600 on the Chemistry SAT II, thus gaining a concrete step in the college direction. In addition, and perhaps even more importantly, my students will leave as highly critical thinkers, empowered by the ability to apply the scientific method—beginning with a question, gathering research and ultimately reaching an informed conclusion—toward facing any future obstacle.

There is no doubt in my mind that with the right educator, these students are capable of astonishing academic achievement. My hesitation lies in the nagging self-doubt that comes with putting your butt on the line.

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