On this page you can read about my program and how it impacted me. I mention three specific courses that really stood out. I should mention that choosing just three was very difficult for me because I found all of the coursework made me really contemplate where I stood.
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In my youth, I had no plan. I thought about being so many different things when I grew up. I can recall playing school in 3rd grade but that was most likely because I adored my teacher. (In fact, in reflecting on my younger years, most subjects I enjoyed were because of great teachers). As I grew older, I knew what I was good at and I pursued it in college. I had no idea what it would lead me to do. If it hadn’t been for my experience studying abroad, I probably would never have left my parents’ basement!
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and I had fallen in love while living and studying in Chile. So I returned there to him and knew that I could make a living by teaching. So I fell into education sort of by chance and I am so grateful that I did. I began teaching English to adults in Chile and when I returned to the United States a few years later, I taught Spanish. I had never taken a single education course in college and began a career without having studied about said career. In fact, the first education courses I took were for my Master of Arts in Education (MAED) fifteen years after I first started teaching. I had always heard that education programs did not truly prepare teachers and I was complacent in hearing that I could learn everything I needed to by stepping into the classroom and just doing it. So I learned about teaching by doing, just as I had learned about learning by doing.
When I decided to pursue an administrative position at my previous school, I was enrolled in another degree program, one that I would never finish. I had a three year-old daughter and was pregnant with my second daughter reading medieval Spanish literature after bedtime, wondering how I would ever really use that information. Like many teachers, I wanted my program to be something I could bring back to my classroom. Spanish literature, as wonderful as it is, was not helpful in teaching middle and high school Spanish. I needed something else, especially if I were to take on a leadership role. I did a lot of research and came upon the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. And I enrolled. The program has allowed me to be more whole. I had always felt that I was missing something by not knowing the theories, by not knowing the science behind learning. Now I feel more complete for my view of education is more complete.
This program not only provided me insights into education as a system within the United States, it has also afforded me the opportunity to form my own thoughts and perspectives about students in the 21st century as well as teachers in the 21st century. Moreover, it has given me space to learn about myself as a leader and about the values that I hold near to me and how those shape my approach in school settings but also my approach to learning in general. Why do we have schools? I found it very useful to look back so that we could look forward. Concepts of Educational Inquiry (ED 800) allowed me to do just that. It was a great starting place for me for it covered many important figures in the history of education from Socrates to John Dewey. This course impacted my thinking in a profound manner as I examined the great philosophical thinkers that came before me. The design of the course also brought inquiry into the classroom as it highlighted Vivian Paley’s work. Of course it is important to remember that we don’t learn in a vacuum and thus learning in other cultures was also examined. This was the first course I took that focused on cognition and the impact on me was profound. Here I felt as though I needed to know more and made some future course selection decisions because I knew that this was precisely the information that I didn’t have that I needed! How do we learn? What exactly is going on inside of us when we learn something? And what external conditions are essential to that process? I knew at this early point in my program that I was acquiring knowledge about learning that would greatly impact how I saw teaching. We are part of the debate that determines what is important in education and what drives our decision about what is best for students.
I would like to note that I believe that we educate students so that they can be contributing members of society as adults. My belief is that education goes beyond facts and formulas. There is an important social-emotional learning that happens in adolescents that should be an integral part of any school, especially in the digital age.
The 21st century is one that has seen such incredible technological advances and changes in the world as a result of these advances. Schools must have to respond and adjust. So how does that happen? Schools are notoriously slow in changing. Heck, we are still using a time unit, the Carnegie Unit, from the late 19th century!! Due to the brief exposure to the digital age in the Concepts of Educational Inquiry course, I decided it was best to take a course on the topic and thus I enrolled in Education in the Digital Age (EAD 878). I started this course a little naive about technology use and certainly favored it in all ways possible. This deep dive started with history of writing and printing and covered the scale of the impact of that particular advancement. It really is an interesting place to start. Every major advance in education has been met with cheers and with resistance. So where do I stand?!?!
The new technologies present us an opportunity to make some major adjustments and determinations about education. Students have access to incredible amounts of information, and that access often times rides in their pockets in the form of the smartphone. I recognize the need to teach students skills and not just information. It is these skills that will help them sort through sources to deem them reliable or not. One of the largest changes that I see though, has to do with the constant and immediate feedback that the participatory culture has created. Students in this generation produce content and receive feedback on that content. I am concerned about the impact on social-emotional development in the digital age. After examining the likes of Sheryl Turkle I actually became quite frightened about constant connectedness and how students (and my own children) can be truly connected and not isolated. After examining the multiple perspectives that Education in the Digital Age afforded me, I am no longer in favor of all things digital. Instead, I’ve come back to my senses and understand that moderation is likely the best way. We must teach digital skills, reading online and in books, and must really consider disconnecting from devices so that we can connect in person and build real relationships.
My coursework in the Michigan State University Master of Arts in Education program has allowed me to grow in immense ways. The flexibility in selection of courses really allowed me to explore areas that I found to be helpful in my present day work. As I mentioned in my introduction, I had once before failed at finishing a higher degree because it was not “useful” to me in my day to day. So when I registered for the Fall of 2016 and found the course Leading Teacher Learning: Increasing Active Engagement and Learning of Adults (EAD 824), I knew that I had to take the course. As an administrator interested in finding ways to support the faculty that I worked with and to make them feel valued through observation and feedback, I had come to understand that teachers needed to grow and that I was an integral factor in helping that happen. Leading Teacher Learning helped me to recognize the needs and faults of my previous school and also helped to propel me to seek something better. The overarching view of schools as presented in this course is that there is learning taking place at all levels. This was my first introduction to the professional learning community and what my role in it should be. A simple but also very influential thought that came from this course is that the construction of knowledge at the adult level positively impacts the students. The first step to creating a culture of learning is trust because adult learning is quite different in that it is viewed in a more vulnerable way. I feel blessed to now be in a school that values teacher learning and this course has given me many ideas to share when it comes to the logistical part of learning in teams.
Would I have done things differently knowing what I know now about education programs? I don’t think so. I needed the experience in the classroom and in the leadership roles to be able to get the most out of myself and out of this program. Growing into my teaching role I had tremendous mentors who taught me their best ways of teaching and discussed with me what they thought was important in the classroom. I am constantly humbled by those around me and what they know. I am constantly learning from the masters that walked this campus before me and those that blessed this profession. There is so much to learn about learning. There is so much to know about teaching. They are intertwined and separate all at the same time. I don’t pretend to know more than anyone else. How could I? My degree program has certainly given me more focus and as I prepare to finish the program, I am grateful for all that I learned.
There is so much life in schools. And I love being a part of it for I know that there is always more to learn!