Final Reflection

As I prepare to complete my Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Texas Woman’s University, I am finding myself on solid ground despite the potentially bumpy road ahead.  Although my next adventures in teaching will be exciting and engaging, they will certainly be without tribulations; yet I feel that the preparation I have received as a student at TWU has given me tools to carry me through each bump in the road.

This all began when I thought I would try teaching to see if we (teaching and I) were a good fit.  Immediately upon entering my first classroom, in the Fall of 2007, I was in love.  I love teaching and all the bumps along the road it brings, as it makes me a stronger, more skillful and qualified teacher. When I started my MAT degree in the Fall of 2008, I was surprised to find out how much I didn’t know about teaching.  I assumed that since I had already been teaching for a year in a private school, that that experience had taught me all I needed to know.  While I did learn a lot from my first year of teaching, I have grown by leaps and bounds as a teacher over the last two years, while I was enrolled in the MAT program and pursuing excellence in covering the five learner-centered proficiencies.

Learner-Centered Proficiency 1 – Learner-Centered Knowledge

In the fall of 2009 I took Children’s literature while I was also enrolled in a class about teaching children how to read.  Perhaps it was just coincidence, but I discovered that many of my classes would teach me in unison about topics and concepts that initially seemed unrelated.

In the spring of 2010, I enrolled in Problem Solving in the Elementary Classroom, a math course.  I was hesitant to jump back into math, which was one of my favorite classes and most skilled areas in my elementary through high school education.  As soon as I met Dr. Mallam, I knew that her class would teach me much more than how to explain long division. I learned how to use manipulatives in ways I had never imagined, and how to use simple supplies, such as construction paper, scissors, and tape to engage students in a hands-on lesson about fractions while making paper pizzas.

Learner-Centered Proficiency 2 – Learner-Centered Instruction

Throughout my coursework for the MAT program, I learned what it felt like to be rewarded for my hard work and to reap the successes of my passion for teaching.  There was not a moment in my entire MAT experience that I did not strive for an “A”, in the hopes that my hardest work would allow me to gain the knowledge needed to carry me through any classroom.  In all but one of my courses (so far…two more classes this summer, in which I am hoping A’s for both) I received an A as a result of my work.

Learner-Centered Proficiency 3 – Equity in Excellence for All Learners

In all of my classes I was challenged with new material, concepts, ideas and theories, gaining knowledge for my classroom and accomplishing Learner-Centered Proficiency 1.  From diversity in the classroom with Dr. Anderson where we practiced jigsaw discussion groups, to Dr. Dunlap’s classroom management course where we “managed” imaginary students who were given the teacher “situations” to deal with, I found myself with a boundless energy to learn more about teaching.

Learner-Centered Proficiency 4 – Learner-Centered Communication

As I am about to embark on my next teaching adventure (and that is truly what teaching is…an adventure), I can ably reflect back on how I have grown as an educator. When I first began teaching I was a sponge, trying to soak in everything from everyone about every “best” teaching practice.  It was not until a couple years, and tears, later that I became comfortable and confident in expressing my unique teaching abilities and practices.  I am a learner-centered, child-at-the-center, supporter of guiding children in learning while allowing them to be just who they are: young children.  These are qualities I recognize in myself and that my colleagues and peers recognize in me also.  My colleagues look to me for creative ways to engage children whether it be with music, movement, stories, games, or activities.  My peers see in me patience that has grown with each completed year of teaching.  My supervisors have discussed me (in the observation report for the internship) as a passionate teacher who strives to bring the best to kids every day.

I am also recognized as a learner still in some areas.  For example, my colleagues note about me that I am so devoted to my students that I have difficulty not being able to solve any problems outside of school for them also.  An example of this would be Christopher (*name has been changed*), who was in my class for the past two years.  His mom opened up to me about her struggles with Christopher’s dad, her husband, and that she anticipated it would ultimately lead to divorce.  As a child of a divorced family myself, I found my own heartstrings being pulled.  The empathy I felt for her situation, and Christopher’s, became ever-present as Christopher began to change and experience emotionally rough days at school himself.  While I am able to note that I am still learning to “separate” myself from external issues from school, I am proud that my empathy and openness with families of my students allows them to seek me out in matters of confidence.

Learner-Centered Proficiency 5 – Learner-Centered Professional Development

My next school and teaching position will allow me to continue my love of professional development, thus modeling lifelong learning for my students, and providing evidence of my accomplishment of Learner-Centered Proficiency 5. When most students in the MAT program were working non-education related full time jobs and taking classes, I had the benefit of teaching full-time during my MAT program.  I worked at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas for the entirety of my MAT program, teaching pre-kindergarten in a multi-age classroom.  Thus, while I was in my penultimate semester of the MAT program, I discovered that my teaching position would qualify as my internship! Besides the feeling of elation from knowing I was able to accomplish so very much during such a short period of time, I was relieved knowing that I could begin looking for my “forever” teaching position.  Although teaching positions are contracted for one-year, I have longed for my “forever” school since I began teaching.  This would be the school that I could teach at, grow professionally, gain leadership skills, and remain at for ten, fifteen, or twenty years.

Luckily my work ethic, enthusiasm for teaching, passion for bringing the best of anything to the classroom each day, and ability to thoughtfully reflect on my teaching led me to Trinity School.  Trinity School is a 3s – 6th grade school located in Atlanta, Georgia.  I was given the opportunity to interview and that’s when all my teaching practice, education from TWU, and knowledge and love of children was given a chance to shine.  Trinity School offered me a position to teach Pre-kindergarten and to implement a new program utilizing my foreign language skills called World Languages…and I accepted!

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have discovered that it is not necessarily my achievement of the Learner-Centered Proficiencies, or the 3.86 GPA that I maintain that has taught me the most in becoming a teacher.  Rather it is the thoughtful reflections (such as this one) throughout my MAT program education, paired with exceptional learning and teaching experiences in the classroom that have allowed me to blossom into the teacher I am proud to be today.