Just Another Step Down the Path

I've always seen myself as a learner, and perhaps that was why I so yearned to complete this master's program, even though several other private teachers kept telling me I didn't need to. While I spent four years out of school, having finished my bachelor's degree, I think I've always felt most comfortable in school. Yes, of course I hate all the deadlines, required readings, writing endless essays, and I'm excited to be done, but learning is such an ingrained part of me that being in school is, in its way, comfortable.

While completing my master's, I've had to put a lot of my life on hold. Previously, I was taking guitar and piano lessons, which I discontinued as I knew I wouldn't have time to practice and study. I've put my garden on hold, and my bird show. So, I'm looking forward to finishing up the MAED program and getting back to some other things I've learned in the past.

My first step will be to learn how to sing. I've never been very good at singing, but I want to be able to sing lullabies to my future children. It would be really great if I could sing folk songs with them and actually have it be a recognizable tune. Music is such an integral part of my life, being a music teacher, that it seems a shame that I cannot sing. I'm very capable on my violin, slightly less so on viola, can play piano, guitar, oboe, and cello passably, and even have a very small amount of experience on the bagpipes. But I can't sing. So I'm going to invest in private voice lessons for myself, as I know that I require the pressure of a deadline. I learn best when I get the help and motivation from another person who is holding me accountable.

Once I have gained some proficiency with my own voice, I am going to learn how to move my body. I've always wanted to learn how to dance, and while I have a very amusing picture of me as a 3 year old, very mad in my ballet costume, I never learned how. So, learning to dance is my next learning project. My husband has expressed an interest in learning with me, so I will be looking into lessons we can take together. In college, I attended a few group classes, and they were fun, so perhaps something similar will work for us.

After I can sing and dance, I will brush up on piano and guitar again, take a few violin and/or viola lessons to improve my playing on my primary instruments, and then start bagpipe lessons again. I've always loved the bagpipes, so in college I bought myself a set of smallpipes, which are smaller bagpipes that were designed to be played indoors, and they're not quite as loud as highland bagpipes. I did take some lessons on them, but had to discontinue them for several reasons. I will be restarting bagpipe lessons after I brush-up on my other instruments, as it has been longest, out of all my instruments, since I have studied them.

Professionally, my next step in my development is to begin the process to attain my Nationally Certified Teacher of Music designation from MTNA - Music Teacher's National Association. This is not the same thing as being certified to teach in public schools, but it does give potential students the knowledge and reassurance that I do know what I'm doing. There are several projects that must be completed, including recording my own playing, recording my teaching, and analyzing teaching pieces. I will have one year to complete all the projects after I apply, so I will start assembling what I can before I begin the process. One of those things, my teaching philosophy, I already did for my MAED. I plan to formally begin the process within the year of graduating with my MAED, in order to give me enough time off to pursue some of my other goals.

In other areas of my life, I will continue to learn about gardening and animal care. Currently, I'm treating a goat for pink eye. In order to learn how to treat it, I went online and researched the treatment. There were a LOT of different opinions, many of which seemed if not outright cruel, at least very odd. Among the most odd were spraying the eye with vinegar and water, putting salt in the eye (ow!), and spraying the eye with port. I went with treatments that seemed to make sense, and many reported success with - rinsing the eyes with sterile saline solution, placing wet tea bags on the eyes for as long as she would let me, then dabbing some triple antibiotic ointment in the eyes. Since it was a rather valuable goat, I only gave it one night to work before calling the vet, but by morning she already was looking better. So, I enjoy doing a lot of learning online.

Completing my Master of Arts in Education is not an ending point for me, but rather just another step down the road. I will continue to learn; new skills, new ideas, and new information, whether I am in school or out. While my current goals are more practical, in learning new skills and instruments, and new animal care techniques, I would not be surprised if I found myself pursuing my doctorate at some point. It's not a current goal, but it's hard for a lifelong learner to stay out of school forever.