Goal
Reflection
Looking Ahead
My entrance into graduate school should prove that I do not want to become a “laminated teacher”. I encourage my students to be life-long learners and I know that students learn from example, not from just being told to do something. My students have helped in my time at Michigan State and have been a large part of my success. I shared my academic accomplishments and struggles with my students during morning meeting since I was encouraging them to do the same with their own academic pursuits. Although obtaining my Masters Degree will be a fulfillment of one of my most major life goals, I still have a few more dreams that I am hoping to achieve. I understand that all three of these goals are not likely. I am not entirely sure yet which two of the three I would like to go for. I am currently trying to feel out all three areas to decide which goals I am most interested in. My three major continued goals are to become a Literacy Leader or Literacy Coach in my district, to potentially become an administrator, and to become a Professor of Literacy at the college level.
I absolutely love my job as an elementary teacher and I enjoy teaching all subjects, but my absolute love of in my job is teaching literacy. I adore teaching children how to read with deeper depth and understanding. I spend a lot of time reading professional development books on literacy and I made it my concentration for my degree from MSU. I want to continue learning more about literacy education eventually become a Literacy Leader in my building. That is a teacher who attends literacy professional development and helps teachers in the building who have questions about teaching literacy to their students. I would also be interested in becoming a Literacy Coach and travel between schools and helping educators with their literacy work which is an imperative part of education.
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My second goal is to potentially become an administrator. This is an idea I have been toying around with, but I am not entirely sure if it is something I want to pursue yet. The only thing I am absolutely certain about right now is that I am not finished being in the classroom by any means, but I have started laying groundwork down in case I ever decide it is time to try to move to administration. My first step was getting my graduate degree. The second is signing up for a program offered in my district called Galileo. This program teaching administrative leadership skills necessary for administrators, and it is difficult to become a principal in my district without this certification. Even if I decide not to become an administrator, I will still have learned more and grown from the Galileo program.
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Click here to learn more about the Galileo program.
Image is taken from Oaklanduniversity.edu/galileo/
My final goal is a goal I have had since I started my teaching program at Central Michigan University. After I have had my fill of teaching elementary, I want to become a professor in an education college at a university and teach literacy. I have recently applied to be an adjunct literacy professor at a local community college. My hope is that getting my feet wet in this area would help me decide whether or not I really want to pursue professorship, and if I decide I like it I will begin looking into doctoral programs. I have already done some research on the program offered at Michigan State University. Once I know for sure that it is something I want to do, after a year or two of hopefully teaching night classes at the community college, I will apply. I think that this will be an either-or situation with an administration position. I want to explore both areas and discover which one I think I will enjoy more. I am not in a rush to switch gears in my career anytime soon, I am just looking down the road and making sure I have options in the future.
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Click here to learn more about the MSU Education doctoral program.
This image is the intellectual property of MSU.​
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In conclusion, I plan to be a life-long learner. I recognize that it is unlikely I obtain all three of these positions. I am unsure which one or combination of the two I would like right now, so I am getting my feet wet in different areas and keeping all the doors open. I am not in a rush to change positions and I expect my goals and tastes may potentially change as my career progresses. For these reasons, I am going to stay open to all opportunities and keep pushing myself in all areas.