Consideration of academic and/or personal growth from across the M.Ed. Program.

Reflecting on my academic and personal growth throughout the M.Ed. program, I am deeply grateful for my decision and ability to extend my studies over two years. This choice provided me with the valuable opportunity to learn alongside two different cohorts, each bringing their own unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Engaging with these diverse perspectives broadened my understanding of educational issues and enriched my learning experience. Additionally, this program helped me to develop a strong sense of community and collaboration that allowed me to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with my peers that will continue outside of the program and I will treasure forever.

This program has significantly deepened my understanding of critical concepts such as systems of oppression, forms of resistance, educational policy, critical pedagogy, and neoliberalism. These insights have been integral in shaping my approach to education, empowering me to critically analyze and challenge the structures that perpetuate inequity in our schools and society. The knowledge I gained in these areas has equipped me to advocate for and implement more just and equitable educational practices for my students.

Additionaly, I learned a great deal from my instructors, not only through the content they taught but by observing their teaching methods and philosophies. I witnessed firsthand how great teachers are adaptable and responsive, adjusting their plans in real-time to address the evolving needs of the class, respond to current events, or accommodate individual student needs, including my own. This has inspired me to strive for the same level of responsiveness and flexibility in my own teaching practice.

Finally, my experience studying in Germany provided me with valuable insights into how different educational systems address complex historical atrocities like the Holocaust. Seeing and learning about the German approach to Holocaust education has given me ideas on how I can incorporate more comprehensive and reflective teaching opportunities into my own practices, ensuring that students not only learn about these events but also understand their ongoing relevance in today’s world.

Discussion of how learning from the M.Ed. program will be applied in educational and professional settings in the future.

As I move forward in my educational and professional career, the knowledge and skills I’ve gained through this M.Ed. program have become integral to my teaching practices. One of the most significant takeaways from this program is the emphasis on building community and the value in getting to know each person as an individual. This will guide my teaching by pushing me to make more opportunities designed to get to know my students as well as their families. Moreover, the tools and resources I’ve gained from the program will be instrumental in integrating practices that promote learning, empowerment, equity, and social justice for all learners. Whether in a classroom, community setting, or broader educational institution, I am committed to using what I’ve learned to develop inclusive, equitable, and empowering learning environments. This program has had a profound impact on my teaching theories, and I am eager to apply this new perspective to foster meaningful and transformative educational experiences for all my students.

Additionally, by utilizing educational research to guide my personal and professional practices it will help ensure that my teaching strategies are effective, relevant, and aligned with the everchanging needs in my classroom. This will enable me to not only understand the broader impacts of my teaching but also to advocate for policies and practices within my schools as well as institutionally that promote equity and justice within educational settings. In addition to this, doing educational research gives me the opportunity to further engage in ongoing critical reflection about how personal identity, history, culture, beliefs, ideology, experiences, and politics can intersect with my educational practices. This ongoing reflection ensures that I remain aware of how these factors influence my professional identity as well as my interactions with students.

In my future educational and professional settings, I will apply what I learned from the M.Ed. program, as well as my experiences in Germany, to advocate for essential changes in the U.S. education system. I believe it is crucial to make it mandatory for all students to learn about WWII, Nazi Germany, and the histories of Black and Indigenous peoples, starting in elementary school. This early introduction will help students develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of how the repercussions of these events still impact society today—such as disparities in wealth, education, and access to resources.

Until such curriculum changes are mandated, I will create and include supplementary lessons that center the voices of those harmed by these historical events, rather than teaching from the perspective of the perpetrators. This approach will foster a more comprehensive and empathetic understanding of history from students. Additionally, I will advocate for consistent and adequate training for teachers to effectively and sensitively teach these subjects. Through these efforts, I aim to create an educational environment that promotes critical reflection, equity, and social justice for all learners.

Consideration of gaps, discomforts, and remaining questions lingering through engagement in the program

Throughout this program I gained a lot of knowledge about diverse teaching practices, educational policies, forms of resistance and the importance of creating engaging and inclusive curriculum. That being said, there are a few areas that I believe the program could approve upon to make it even more impactful than it already is. The first thing I believe the program could do to better support educators is incorporating more content focused on the experiences and needs of people with disabilities. In addition to this, I would have loved opportunities to develop lesson plans tailored to various age groups and abilities. It would also be helpful to have classmates and professors offer feedback and perspectives on these lesson plans. Trading or collaborating on lesson plans could help provide diverse approaches and innovative ideas, allowing us to draw inspiration from others and ultimately enriching our teaching practices. All in all, while this program offered great insight, these enhancements could help us to create even more inclusive and effective learning experiences.