Happy New Year!  This is the time of year to consider who we are and who we want to be, and to take steps to be those people in the year to come. So, in the spirit of self-improvement, I hereby name the following as my resolutions for 2012:

1 – Civic engagement. I’ve spent the past 3 years working on Roadmap: 2030 and helping others to get more engaged. 2012 is my turn. I’m going to research and ponder and will have a clear direction in February, but I suspect my engagement will focus on a local area.

2 – Supporting learners. I’ve recently been reading about social mobility and am alarmed by the lack of support for disadvantaged learners beyond high school. Many are ill-prepared for the rigors of post-secondary school and their performance suffers. I hereby resolve to provide support to a post-secondary learner. If anyone knows of any programs a la Pathways to Education that focus on post-secondary, please let me know!

3 – Water coolers. I hereby resolve to continue to engage colleagues, relatives and friends in conversations about current affairs and politics. There are some serious things going on in our city, province and country and I’m going to do my part to raise awareness and learn from the experiences and perspectives of others.