Future Learning Goals

Many skills are necessary to be an effective teacher. Continuing to practice without updating your practices and attitudes will get in the way of being the best teacher you can. Though I am coming to the end of my master’s studies, I see myself as a life-long learner, and will continue my education in other ways as long as I’m in the field. The world is not going to stop changing, so neither should I. In order to keep myself up to date, I plan to focus my energy on three major skills: reflective teaching, equitable education, and motivation.

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In order for my practice to improve, I am going to need to be reflective. I feel that this is already one of my strengths, but I will need to be more consistent with this. Part of my reflective practice is to write about my experience. During my time in the Michigan State University's Master of Arts in Education program I had the opportunity to study the work of Vivian Paley. Paley wrote daily reflections about her classroom. She often asked herself questions that went deeper than pedagogy. This not only allowed her to educate better, but to form deeper relationships with her students. I plan to use writing in a similar way to improve my teaching. I am also an avid reader. I’m particularly interested in issues of ideology, and the assumptions that come along with our practices and habits. I will continue to read about the history of education in the U.S., the ideas behind that structures and the reforms that have taken place. I will continue to evaluate these assumptions as I run into them in my daily practice.

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Entrenched ideologies within education and our country in general have led to unequal access to education. My coursework has engendered within me a greater passion for seeing these inequalities corrected. Trends toward standardization tend to flatten the field of possibilities and assume that every student is the same, when they are obviously not. More equitable treatment of students would mean taking into account their backgrounds, interests, and abilities and meeting them where they are. High standards can be still be maintained, but certain students need extra support. Many simply need understanding and empathy. I am currently involved in our district-wide Equity and Engagement Committee. Moving forward I hope to take on more responsibilities in this area, and hopefully affect change at the district level. In January I will be leading a documentary discussion group that will look at the unequal treatment of students and parents at a high school in Chicago. I also hope to attend more trainings and conferences related to this field. I have already attended the ERACCE (Eliminating Racism and Celebrating/Creating Equity) training, which I found very valuable. I hope to take what I learn and apply it to my classroom wherever possible. It is a process that requires adjustment each year, as I get different families. Different people need different things.

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Finally, motivation must continue to play a large role in my practice as an educator. As part of my coursework for Developing Positive Attitudes Towards Learning I put together a motivation plan for a student to get them  what they need. I would like to take what I have learned there and apply it to each of my students. In order to stay on top of this I will need to stay up to date on the latest scientific literature relating to developmental psychology and motivation. By keeping abreast of this body of knowledge I hope to learn new methods to motivate my students. I already know that relationships play a large role in motivating students. This is part of the reason that relationships come first in my classroom. By this I do not mean that every student must like me, but they must feel that I respect their intelligence, integrity, and autonomy. They must feel that I take my duty as an educator seriously and that I will not leave them behind. I need to appeal to student interests. I must also create situational interest in my lessons that will draw my learners in and make them curious. One of the great resources for creating situational interest I've come upon since beginning my career is the work of Dave Burgess. I look forward to using what I've learned in MAED in conjunction with my extracurricular studies to continue to motivate my students in new ways.

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My three goals have many overlapping qualities. At the core of each is my relationship to the student. I must reflect on the quality of my relationships in order to be more equitable and motivational. I must show respect for student interest both for the sake of equity and motivation, and this requires reflection as well. All of these skills will combine to make me a better teacher.