My Mountains

I was tasked with writing three goals for myself when entering the Masters of Arts in Educations or MAED program at Michigan State University. I recall struggling to come up with goals. I knew I wanted to further my education. But I wasn't sure about specific goals. I thought about my current and future teaching. I reflected on what was going well, what I wanted to improve and where I wanted to be. In the end I came up with three goals but I would soon find some of them to be mountains. 

I was very ambitious when creating my goals, hence why I now call them Mountains. I realize now most of my goals are career goals that take many years to achieve. Below you will find my original three goals and summary of my rational at the time I created them.

I wanted, and still do want, to be the best teacher for my students. This meant to me at the time to learn the best practices and implement them in my classroom. I think I was hoping to come away with a checklist to follow and do. I realize now that this Mountain is a life long goal. I will always be working towards being the best teacher for my students and implementing the next best practices. My students deserve the best and it is still important to me that I am the best teacher I can be for them. Reflecting now, my graduate courses have assisted me on my way to reaching this goal.

I recall thinking about how important to my development, as teachers were my mentors. I hoped to mentor new teachers and share with them my experiences and practices.  During my time working on my masters I haven’t mentored new teachers in the sense I had expected. I have had the opportunity to mentor Central Michigan University Pre Service Teachers in writing. Each semester I mentor and support these students during my writing instruction and assist them in conducting writing conferences. I am confident one day I will be a mentor teaching for new teachers. 

At the time I wrote this goal, my grade level teachers met once a week during a PLC time to reflect and plan. My colleagues were more experienced and I sometimes felt over looked. My coursework gave me material to bestow, but I realize now that it was about my confidence and not my lack of experience. When faced with teachers with drastically more experience it can be daunting to defend your opinion. It is still important to me to be heard and feel confident with my colleagues. 

Reflecting back on these goals, I wouldn’t change them. They are still important to me. I have however realized these are goals that take time and aren’t going to be achieved in a short time. These are Mountains. Mountains that take preparation, practice, and time to reach their peak.