My Professional Growth as an Education Major Essays

“The most successful nations in the future will be those which develop high quality, skilled and motivated workforces and make good use of them.” Government White Paper (1994)

In my experiences as an educator I have learned that the way teachers are taught and raised, effects the way they teach. But we must make choices not based on our past, but learn how to embrace our student’s unique perspective and set of experiences. There are several ways to make this connection:

Rhonda Haus started her career in the secondary school system where she has seen and been a part of many changes. She gave a unique perspective into Regina Public Schools and highlight the systems specific goals along with their successes and failures. Underlining it all was her message to put the students and to provide the best education for all kids. These goals were measurable and attainable. Kaylan Gazda spoke about the elementary school system and her experience in a variety of grades and schools. Her time in an experimental classroom and in another country provided many challenges. However, those challenges and obstacles made her a better teacher for her current job in a split classroom. Jordan McFarlan was able to provide insight in process of building a new program in a high school from the ground up. He was able to list challenges he faced and ways to respond to those challenges. Jesamy Unger presented what is was it is like to be a student taking education and the lessons she learned throughout her journey. She gave us useful advice for our field experiences and the tip that not everything you need to know about being a teacher will be taught in school. Every member of the panel highlighted you need to make relationships and networks with students, colleagues and even

Since my first day of grade school I have dreamt of becoming a teacher. It was not until my junior year of high school that my dream grew into a passion for wanting to teaching in an urban environment. During a field tip to a Chicago Public School, I observed that the students where clearly in an underfunded and disadvantaged environment compared to my own experience in school. The moment that I saw that teacher earning respect and influencing her students, it was obvious to me that these teachers were the most influential factor in the classroom. The teacher’s attitude and ability to influence was more important than any other resource.

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

“Educators have known for quite some time that building a collaborative culture in which people work together interdependently to fulfill their shared purpose and achieve their common goals is an essential strategy for sustained school improvement,” (DuFour & DuFour, 2008, p. 173). ISLLC Standard 1, working toward a shared vision is an exemplified in this process; and Sorenson & Goldsmith note that encouraging people to collaborate is a one of the ten most wanted strategies for school a positive school culture (p.

I am attending Concord College to further my education. After graduating with an Elementary Education Degree, I would like to teach in an elementary school in Southern West Virginia. Preferably, I would like to teach in a kindergarten environment. While teaching I plan to further my career with a Master’s degree. I would like to be able to reach those children that aren’t as fortunate as others. As a teacher I will not only teach the children, but they in turn, will teach me. Education is one of the most important aspects to the success of the country. It is important for everyone to feel a part of that success; therefore, I feel strongly about teaching students to succeed.

As a student, I have been inspired by a few teachers at both my primary and secondary schools to seek an interest in the teaching profession. One year after finishing secondary school where I obtained most of my passes I took some time to reflect back on my twelve years at school and the few critical incidents that have cultivated my thinking about teachers and teaching. Some incidents were positive and others negative, but all assisted to shape the type of teacher I want to be in the future! A few critical incidents that shaped my thinking were the first time I came first in a class, the evening I approached the lackadaisical teacher and the day where I was escorted out of class.

Ideally, when I graduate, I would like to enter the credential program at Cal Poly Pomona. As an English Education major, I feel like this is the next logical step for me as I seek to move forward on my path of becoming a teacher. The opportunities that await me in the credential program truly excite me because I have always found my studies of English Education to be very rewarding and purposeful. I have found this to be especially true now because I am currently in the process of conducting observation hours at local high schools in Pomona as part of my English Education curriculum. When I am in the classroom, I immediately feel a sense of joy, purpose, and productivity. Outside of the classroom, I do have experience teaching as a leader for a club on campus; I am a Woman’s Bible Study Leader for Cal Poly Cru and I have found this experience of teaching college students to be the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding experience I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. It can become overwhelming as doubts and deadlines tend to sneak in on me from time to time, but I know that being a teacher is worth every ounce of pressure because of the positive impact that a teacher has the ability to make on a student. There is an incredible statistic that states that “On average a teacher affects 3,000 children over the course of their career” (Bickley). This opportunity stirs my heart like nothing else because when I was in high school, I had an incredible teacher named

After interviewing and survey teachers at the elementary school a couple of distant items came up. Overall the teachers agreed that as a building there is a strong sense of unity and teamwork. In the majority of results teachers commented that the staff is always willing to help each other. The data behind one survey question backed up this feeling. 4.6/5 teachers felt that teachers in their building were always willing to help out when there was a problem. This theme shows that the values and beliefs of the staff are strong in family unity. They consider each staff member to be part of the family and treat them as such. In addition to being a family, teachers commented that the building administration is supportive of the teachers and did a great job praising them in their students progress. Questions on the survey about building leadership scored the second highest overall with an average of exceeds expectations to the following statement, “Leaders value teachers ideas” and “Leaders in the school trust the professional judgements of teachers.” Three issues that did arise were disconnect between grade level groups, consistent expectations, and teacher development. First the idea that even though they were strong as a family there seemed to be a disconnect between the primary (Kindergarten-second grade) and the elementary (third-fifth grade) seemed to come up multiple times. This is concerning as it seemed as a whole that they felt that it was a strong family but

Teachers analogous to every other human desire for integration, collaboration and kinship, yet, encounter confinement and segregation. Ingersoll stated in 2012, “although elementary and secondary teaching involves intensive interaction with youngsters, the work of teachers is done largely in isolation from colleagues. This isolation can be especially difficult for newcomers, who, upon accepting a position in a school, are frequently left to succeed or fail on their own within the confines of their classrooms—often likened to a “lost at sea” or “sink or swim” experience”.(http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersoll.h31.html). Veteran teachers consistently promulgated to me early in my career that I needed to earn my stripes to acquire credibility in the education profession. Morosely, those words pushed me towards isolation rather than collaboration. Wong states, “ New teachers want more than a job. They want to experience success. They want to contribute to a group. They want to make a difference. The best induction programs provide connection because they are structured within learning communities where new and veteran teachers interact and treat each other with respect and are valued for their respective contributions”. (p. 47) Similar to students, teachers need their administration to provide a working environment that includes structure, safety, compassion and trust from the onset.

“Teamwork fuels group spirit, develops process skills that help teachers interact in more productive ways, and fosters a more intellectual atmosphere.” (Maeroff, 1993).

As children, we absorb information and learn from experiences that mold us into who we are. Many individuals impact a child’s life, but the most powerful and influential role lies in a devoted teacher, a teacher provides growth to students as a gardener would to a garden of flowers. Each child can bloom into a thriving flower so long as you water their garden with optimism, love, patience, and guidance. Throughout my educational experiences I was lucky enough to have educators who poured their knowledge and optimism into me, and now I would like to reciprocate that back to students who are in the position I was once in. Balancing life and school is hard enough for a student, but a powerful and caring teacher can steer you in the right direction. In this autobiography you will read about my educational background, experiences that influenced my decision to become a teacher, and what I believe the role of a teacher should be in a student’s life.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having

Being a teacher is not an easy task as many people could think. To be a teacher does not only imply to know the subject to be taught, it also includes being willing to constantly improve oneself integrally, as much as updating the resources and materials one uses in teaching. Reflecting and analyzing over and over again the best way to teach to learn and how to make students to extend what has been learned. The many hours spend in the classroom will never be enough to plan lessons, prepare materials, review pupils tasks and exams, as well, all the administrative requirements one has to cover for whatever institution we work. Besides all this a good teacher, a professional one, will have to find the time to keep preparing to improve