What is Your Mission Statement?

                

I was asked to develop a philosophy statement for this week's assignment in PME 811 - Innovation in Teaching & Learning. This process proved to be quite valuable as it encouraged me to reflect on my personal philosophy of teaching and learning … and life.

My final product was a fairly general statement about how I value creativity and innovation and how these elements have a positive effect on teaching and learning, and encourage diversity and inclusion.  I noted that we should learn from history, but also challenge the assumptions we have about history - be revisionists!  We need to be mindful and self-aware, and present the conditions necessary for a beneficial learning environment. 

With further reading, I started to think about the value a personal philosophy of life would have for an individual.  It would be like a personal Mission Statement.  Organizations spend months and thousands of dollars in developing the right Mission Statement - this is to guide the work and daily decisions of every employee in the company in the right direction. With this in mind, wouldn't it be valuable to develop one's own set of philosophies to assist with life decisions - big and small?  

I looked for examples of corporate mission statements, and found some great ones here. Nike's Mission is: 

"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
This guides all that they do at Nike and is consistent to every decision that is made throughout the organization.  There's a great 4-minute interview with Mark Parker, Nike CEO that you can listen to here.

With regard to a personal statement, maybe this is something you write in a journal, or on a post-it beside your computer monitor. Maybe it's a lengthy description.  Maybe it's just a few key words. Maybe it's a poem or song you resonate with, or a picture or infographic. However it materializes, I  think it's worth considering. Certainly there would be an investment of time required in reflecting and developing this statement, but it may pay off in the long run.

Sources

Chism, N. (998) Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement.  In Gillespie, K.H. (Ed) Essays on Teaching Excellence:  Toward the Best in the Academy (1997-98). POD NetworkL  A publication of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.

Davenport, Barrie (2020). 11 Best Personal Philosophies to Guide Your Life. Retrieved from: https://liveboldandbloom.com/09/values/personal-philosophy-examples

Morella-Olson, Melinda (2021). 31 Amazing (and a Few Awful) Company Mission Statement Examples You Can Sink Your Teeth Into. From Imaginasium: blog https://www.imaginasium.com/blog/mission-statement-examples