Pecha Kucha

My Reflection

With this assignment, I began thinking about my life from the very beginning. What should I show on these slides that would represent me? Reflecting back from my previous school experience, I considered important events that really influenced my life in a positive way. These experiences led me to build and create an identity that would become my very own over time. I decided to make a timeline of these moments to put onto the PowerPoint and then delegated how much time I should spend on discussing certain experiences. Going through the photos for the presentation, feelings of nostalgia came over me about how much growth I have accomplished over the course of my education. These photos are proof of the milestones in my life, and they symbolize the memories of times that challenged me and contributed to my own personal growth. Putting these relics onto the slides, I mentally created a dialogue about each picture and why I personally put it into my Pecha Kucha. It was hard not putting my words on the PowerPoint, as I am used to a normal format of presenting, so instead I used comical gifs and images people would be able to relate to and understand. Mixing humor into my story, I felt more comfortable telling my new classmates about my journey. Talking about such personal and serious topics with peers I just met made me slightly nervous; however, I soon began to feel more comfortable about the project as I realized this is what teaching is all about. Being open and vulnerable with others can create an environment that makes everyone feel comfortable being themselves and also leads to a deeper and mutual respect for one another and our journeys.

The night before our Pecha Kuchas, I rehearsed what I was going to say and added last-minute details to the slides as I reviewed the reasoning for each picture and its meaning I wanted to show to my classmates. Sharing it with my professor and the TAs, I sighed as I prepared myself to open up to others about my life. As I walked into class the next day, I felt confident and excited to open up to my peers and share with them the highlights of my growth as a person as well as a future educator. I sat down and watched as my peers told their stories and could relate to their struggles and identify with their triumphs. When it was my turn to present, I rushed to the front of the classroom and faced my audience. I saw my peers not as my classmates but instead as future teachers who traveled the same path as me. Even though their paths were different and, in some cases, harder than mine, nonetheless we all ended up at this moment in time in this class wanting to educate and help children. This atmosphere made me feel comfortable as well as welcomed while I showed them my journey. Afterwards, I felt my teacher identity changed and grew as I wanted to create this feeling of belonging in my own classroom one day when I become a teacher. By learning from my students and vice versa, I can grow alongside them and achieve a better perspective and sense of my teacher identity.