Reflection: not just for the mirror.

     After reading an article about how to stay on top and in control of your sanity while teaching I realized that reflection is not just sitting around day dreaming about what I did wrong and how I wish it could be better.  The author expressed her thoughts and feelings during her initial experience of being a first time teacher.  Reading this article has made me even more motivated than before to take what I am going to do in the classroom and not only be effective for years to come but learn from my mistakes and make lessons meet my students more effectively every year.  I am disappointed to read that she worked on a campus where she felt alone and unsupported.  I do know that I will stay current with professional development and be a part of one or more professional learning communities. 

While I was reading I thought about how powerful it would be for myself as well as my current and future students if I were able to journal, reflect and then put those deliberate reflections into practice. I always planned to be an effective teacher.  I am very motivated to meet my students where they are, socially and academically and get them to be as close to where they need to be as I can.  I now have the vehicle of self-reflection to keep what I am doing current and documented.  A major plan I have now is to make sure I stay organized and keep as detailed as possible daily routines, lesson plans, and most importantly actions and reactions surrounding specific activities.

http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/6jul3208z5.htm

Existentialist for education!

     During the fall semester of 2012 I participated in a philosophical inventory questionnaire that identified MY educational philosophy or school of thought. After tallying the answers I chose, the score sheet revealed that the philosophy I most identify with is existentialism. I think along the lines of great men who believed that people must define themselves!  I do not fit into a stereo-type, statistic or box that anyone has or will make for me.  I see my path as an infinite possibility of options just waiting for me to take them.  This is important to know because I now understand that while I will follow the mandated curriculum of the classroom, school and district I choose to work in; I will be an educator that encourages my students to find things about themselves that they didn't know.  I will implement lessons that require students to get out of their comfort zones, think in different ways and pursue their own personal interests.  I will allow my students to develop critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity skills to better prepare them for their futures, whatever they may be.

    
     I realize that existentialist have been viewed as being lost and confused in this world, I do not accept that definition for myself.  I think about why some rules are the way they are, I have my own opinion about EVERYTHING!  I question authority, I decide how my day will go no matter what I am facing, and personal responsibility is a big factor in my life!

http://myfla.ws/blog/2008/05/24/top-5-qualities-of-good-teachers/

Professional Goals

As a teacher candidate enrolled in Prairie View A&M University’s College of Education my very immediate goal is obtain as much knowledge as possible from my dynamic instructors.  I am executing this goal by reading the required texts for all of my courses, and supplemental literature that will aide me in being successful this semester and in the future.  My next goal is to ensure when graduation day comes, my teacher certification will also be in hand.  On a daily basis I am reading, reciting and studying various tools that will help me pass the TExES. 

                Once I have reached those milestones the long term professional goal that I have for myself and my legacy is to be a reflective, compassionate, effective educator.  Other long term goals include being a staple in the community where I live and teach.  Someone that will be there for years to come who will motivate, educate and encourage others around me the way I have had positive people encouraging me.

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/156.asp