Mission Statements

           What is a mission statement? A mission statement typically contains similar aspirations, such as a desire for students to be safe, respectful, responsible and successful. The length of a mission statement varies. It can either be long or short. Whatever the mission statement is, it needs to be clear, concise, to the point, and regarding a local, global and digital community.

            Students need to understand what their school mission statement is. As an educator when I was asked to find my school’s mission statement so that I could modify it, this turned out to be a difficult task. My school didn’t have a mission statement. The district’s mission statement was one sentence long and very open ended. It didn’t mention anything about cyberspace and how to be a digital citizen.

            It’s important when creating mission statements to keep in mind the digital lifestyle our students have. If a mission statement is created and doesn’t include how to be a safe, respectful contributing member to a local, global and digital community, then the mission is incomplete. 

            Mission statements are informative and help guide students. A mission statement doesn’t have to be written solely in typical prose. Another approach is to construct a mantra or motto, which is typically no longer than a sentence. While conversing with my peers this week, I read a mission statement that stuck with me. It explained how to be a contributing member in a digital community and remind students about the National Educational Technology Standards. This mantra was written by, Alison Gryga:

“Nice

Ethical

Technology

Safety”
We want our students to be safe, respectful and a contributing member. With an understanding of what this means, our students will be a digital citizen.

            I plan on showing this mantra to my colleagues. I think it’s important for all educators to explain to their students how to be a digital citizen.  I will also have my students create a mantra of their own on how to be a contributing member in a local, global and digital community. When students create their own they will understand and follow the guidelines more than if someone else required them to.