The following is an adaptation of research done by the Search Institute and an excerpt from the May Renaissance Kit: Getting Real About Goals
This year, Jostens is partnering with Search Institute, an organization dedicated to researching and understanding what kids need in order to succeed. Over the past 25 years, Search Institute has studied the strengths and challenges in the lives of more than five million middle and high school youth across the country and around the world. Like Jostens Renaissance, Search Institute focuses on young people’s strengths, rather than emphasizing their problems or deficiencies. Visit Search-Institute.org to learn more.
Having and working toward goals is vital for success in school, work and life. Effective goals can motivate students to work hard, change their behaviors and focus attention on what really matters to them as they envision their own futures. But it’s much easier to say you have a goal than it is to work toward and reach one. People aspire to many things that they say they want, but they never really work toward. For example, students may say they want to go to a competitive college, but then not take the actions and reach the milestones that will actually help them get there.
As the school year begins to wind down, it’s a good time to encourage students to reflect on their goals for their summer and the near future. What do they really want, in the short- and long-term? What steps will they take to get there? How will they deal with obstacles and setbacks?
This month’s Renaissance Kit highlights the importance of goals, goal setting and goal management for students. It introduces a research-based approach to setting
goals called WOOP (Wishes, Objectives, Obstacles, Plans), which helps students set realistic goals, envision success and deal with obstacles that come up. And it shows how teachers, peers and parents can all help kids be successful in working toward their goals.
— Kent Pekel, Ed.D.
President and CEO, Search Institute
Click the image below to see the Getting Real About Goals guide from the May Renaissance Kit, which includes class activities, statistics and research around goal setting.
