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Only Time Will Tell
As my graduate
program comes to a close, I think back at the last three years of everything I
have learned. But then I realized I have been learning the last thirty-one
years, whether I was in school or not. While growing up, school was mandatory,
my mother forced me go to school but it was my choice to learn. After high
school, I chose to continue my education and proceed to learn how to teach
mathematics, knowing that in four years I would know it all and go into my
career. I could not have been more wrong. As a teacher, each year, each day was
a learning opportunity. New students, new curriculum, new challenges expanded
my thought and questioning of how to do better for my students.
I started my Masters of Arts in Education thinking I was going to focus on teaching mathematics but instead became more interested in leadership. As my program ends, I am passionate about being a leader in my school and want to further my knowledge in education, introducing new ideas to my co-workers. The school I work at has alot of turn-over and even now my district is beginning to integrate mastery-based grading into the system. As new and experienced teachers started to work at our school I want to be able to support them when they are introduced this new system. Professional learning communities are known to have some off the best results when increasing success among students. But, as a teacher, I know that one great idea will not work for every student. And because of that, my work will never be done. It is always exciting to keep my eyes and ears open to new ideas to support my learning, my colleagues learning, and especially my students learning.
Not only did my master’s program introduce me to new interests in leadership, but it also introduced me into bringing more technology into my classroom. I know my knowledge of the technology is still increasing and what I can bring into my classroom is slim. It has been proven that the use of technology brings excitement and focus into the classroom. And with that, technology brings new opportunities for student to show their understanding. I have always approved of being able to show my students multiple ways to solve math concepts, so why can I not give them multiple opportunities to show what they have learned. A written test is boring and the future holds so much more. If I want my students to learn for the future, I must bring new ideas and manipulatives into my classroom. I might be smart and devoted to my students, but these ideas will not just pop in my head. I will have to work, search, read, and explore to discover what I want to try or what will work in my classroom.
I plan to continue looking into more ways to bring technology into my classroom, but I also want my colleagues to do the same. At the end of this year, I plan to purpose to the 9th grade at school, to bring in a small technology project into their classroom or allow students to show their understanding through a piece of technology. I would like to work with the technological course to provide assistance so students can show their knowledge with precision and creativity. It is my goal to support my teams learning new strategies that involve different technologies and to become a stronger Professional Learning Community communication and development strategies. I am currently head of the math department and the 9th grade level, I want to be able to create opportunities for my colleagues to become effective teachers and be able to have data showing this. With the eagerness to continue with technology and use strategies to strengthen my Professional Learning Community, I am reminded of a very successful concept, that doing too much at once does not build effectiveness but focusing on a few at a time with build depth and strength.
As the future draws closer to the present, change is inevitable. If I want to continue being a successful teacher, a supportive co-worker, and a resourceful educator, I must change with the times. Even if I was able to call myself perfect, that I knew everything I needed to know to help all of my students understand the concepts in mathematics, I know I would not be perfect for long. A teacher never stops learning, whether it is challenging student, new curriculum, or new policies, a good teacher finds a way to further their ability to reach out to students. I want to go beyond my required professional development, beyond my masters to discover more surprising ways to make a classroom function with success and to teach my students to become life-long learners.
I started my Masters of Arts in Education thinking I was going to focus on teaching mathematics but instead became more interested in leadership. As my program ends, I am passionate about being a leader in my school and want to further my knowledge in education, introducing new ideas to my co-workers. The school I work at has alot of turn-over and even now my district is beginning to integrate mastery-based grading into the system. As new and experienced teachers started to work at our school I want to be able to support them when they are introduced this new system. Professional learning communities are known to have some off the best results when increasing success among students. But, as a teacher, I know that one great idea will not work for every student. And because of that, my work will never be done. It is always exciting to keep my eyes and ears open to new ideas to support my learning, my colleagues learning, and especially my students learning.
Not only did my master’s program introduce me to new interests in leadership, but it also introduced me into bringing more technology into my classroom. I know my knowledge of the technology is still increasing and what I can bring into my classroom is slim. It has been proven that the use of technology brings excitement and focus into the classroom. And with that, technology brings new opportunities for student to show their understanding. I have always approved of being able to show my students multiple ways to solve math concepts, so why can I not give them multiple opportunities to show what they have learned. A written test is boring and the future holds so much more. If I want my students to learn for the future, I must bring new ideas and manipulatives into my classroom. I might be smart and devoted to my students, but these ideas will not just pop in my head. I will have to work, search, read, and explore to discover what I want to try or what will work in my classroom.
I plan to continue looking into more ways to bring technology into my classroom, but I also want my colleagues to do the same. At the end of this year, I plan to purpose to the 9th grade at school, to bring in a small technology project into their classroom or allow students to show their understanding through a piece of technology. I would like to work with the technological course to provide assistance so students can show their knowledge with precision and creativity. It is my goal to support my teams learning new strategies that involve different technologies and to become a stronger Professional Learning Community communication and development strategies. I am currently head of the math department and the 9th grade level, I want to be able to create opportunities for my colleagues to become effective teachers and be able to have data showing this. With the eagerness to continue with technology and use strategies to strengthen my Professional Learning Community, I am reminded of a very successful concept, that doing too much at once does not build effectiveness but focusing on a few at a time with build depth and strength.
As the future draws closer to the present, change is inevitable. If I want to continue being a successful teacher, a supportive co-worker, and a resourceful educator, I must change with the times. Even if I was able to call myself perfect, that I knew everything I needed to know to help all of my students understand the concepts in mathematics, I know I would not be perfect for long. A teacher never stops learning, whether it is challenging student, new curriculum, or new policies, a good teacher finds a way to further their ability to reach out to students. I want to go beyond my required professional development, beyond my masters to discover more surprising ways to make a classroom function with success and to teach my students to become life-long learners.