The Journey Continues...
By: Dana Greaves
When I set the goal for myself to complete my Master’s degree, I didn’t think about the end result, but rather the path I needed to take to complete this goal. It is hard for me to realize that I have almost made it to the end of this journey that I set out on over 4 years ago during my student teaching.
I think that as a teacher in this generation, we are taught to look at small milestones; such as graduating college, learning as much as possible during student teaching (and surviving in general), and then the main milestone is attaining a job. Each year you teach, you gain more knowledge and have more confidence in your ability to teach your group of students. As the years of teaching pass, you add another notch on your belt, another year of experience on your journey. On my path, completing my Master’s was the next stepping stone to jump over, but when I stop to think about it, what’s next?
I will never stop being a lifelong learner. I know that my path of education doesn’t end with just this one Master’s degree, but will continue in the classroom and my school environment. I will have the ability to learn from my students, and I will have the chance to learn from my peers. I am lucky to teach in an environment where many of my colleagues are very versed in technology, along with new teaching styles. I can’t wait to have more time to really delve into the technologies that they have talked about that can assist my teaching.
I will relish the time that I will have to explore for myself, and experience new technologies first hand. I will have completed my Master’s at the same time as I will have completed my third year teaching, and I can say that the experiences I have had have taught me so much. I have learned not only about new technologies, but I have learned about how to manage my time and how to balance the events that are happening in my life. I am excited to gain new experiences by having time to explore new technologies that I have discovered firsthand.
I think that in the future, I will go back to school for another degree; possibly another Master’s degree or even some type of advanced degree. I enjoy being pushed by someone other than myself. I want to have deadlines and have the opportunity to hear other teachers’ experiences in teaching that I haven’t been exposed to. I think that I have a personality that if it was possible, I would continue in formal education for as long as I could. I will definitely enjoy this break, but I don’t think it will last too long.
I cannot wait to have more experiences in the classroom, and continue to build on the knowledge that this Master’s program had presented me with. I love going to work every day, and even when I’m exhausted on a Friday afternoon, I know that I cannot wait to hear about my students’ weekends the following Monday. I love the opportunities that I have had to incorporate technology in my teaching, because I see how excited my students feel about it. The more knowledge I am presented with about technology, the more excitement and joy I get to see on my kiddos’ faces when we interact with it. That is what I’m looking forward to as I continue on my lifelong teaching and learning path.
I think that as a teacher in this generation, we are taught to look at small milestones; such as graduating college, learning as much as possible during student teaching (and surviving in general), and then the main milestone is attaining a job. Each year you teach, you gain more knowledge and have more confidence in your ability to teach your group of students. As the years of teaching pass, you add another notch on your belt, another year of experience on your journey. On my path, completing my Master’s was the next stepping stone to jump over, but when I stop to think about it, what’s next?
I will never stop being a lifelong learner. I know that my path of education doesn’t end with just this one Master’s degree, but will continue in the classroom and my school environment. I will have the ability to learn from my students, and I will have the chance to learn from my peers. I am lucky to teach in an environment where many of my colleagues are very versed in technology, along with new teaching styles. I can’t wait to have more time to really delve into the technologies that they have talked about that can assist my teaching.
I will relish the time that I will have to explore for myself, and experience new technologies first hand. I will have completed my Master’s at the same time as I will have completed my third year teaching, and I can say that the experiences I have had have taught me so much. I have learned not only about new technologies, but I have learned about how to manage my time and how to balance the events that are happening in my life. I am excited to gain new experiences by having time to explore new technologies that I have discovered firsthand.
I think that in the future, I will go back to school for another degree; possibly another Master’s degree or even some type of advanced degree. I enjoy being pushed by someone other than myself. I want to have deadlines and have the opportunity to hear other teachers’ experiences in teaching that I haven’t been exposed to. I think that I have a personality that if it was possible, I would continue in formal education for as long as I could. I will definitely enjoy this break, but I don’t think it will last too long.
I cannot wait to have more experiences in the classroom, and continue to build on the knowledge that this Master’s program had presented me with. I love going to work every day, and even when I’m exhausted on a Friday afternoon, I know that I cannot wait to hear about my students’ weekends the following Monday. I love the opportunities that I have had to incorporate technology in my teaching, because I see how excited my students feel about it. The more knowledge I am presented with about technology, the more excitement and joy I get to see on my kiddos’ faces when we interact with it. That is what I’m looking forward to as I continue on my lifelong teaching and learning path.