Growing In The Future As A Teacher
By: Hope Andres
I look into the future as to where I might see myself going as a teacher I am still reminded of everything I have done so far and accomplished as a teacher in just the couple of years that I have started.
When I first started teaching I thought to myself, "will I be able to help every child in my room no matter what their family life might be?" I can honestly say I have been able to do this with confidence and pride. When I look at all the students I have had and some of them that come from a rough family life I think to myself coming to school for them is a place where they can escape and be themselves and feel safe. Making every child feel the same and letting them learn in their own different way is something that I’m proud I have accomplished so far in my years of teaching. This is something that I don’t ever want to forget and make sure that I am doing this throughout my years as a teacher.
Looking at my time in the MAET program I can see it has affected my teaching in a positive way. Three years ago when starting the program I feel I used technology in my classroom, but felt as if I limited what I was doing with the technology and using maybe one or two things a week with technology. While doing this program I have seen myself grow as a teacher, student, and a person in technology. Becoming more aware of certain types of software, technology, teaching through technology, and finding websites in your classroom that are free to use without a subscription. Beginning the MAET program I really looked at how much of technology I wasn’t doing in my room and realized that I need to change my outlook on education and how the impact of using technology in the classroom benefits not only the students, but me as a teacher. Showing students a whole new way of learning through technology lets them open up as a learner and express what they have learned through the type of technology they are using. When I look at how students write in their draft book and then publish their work on Imovie or KidPix I see how they have changed what they wrote on paper and made it come more alive. In the future I would love to incorporate more digital storybooks with students work into my classroom. Students get a sense of pride when they see their work on something else besides paper and they are more confident as writers and want to write more because they have a sense of pride about what they have accomplished.
Many people have asked me if I will get another degree after I finish my Masters, this is something that I can’t answer yet. I think that I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far in my years of teaching and also proud of what I have accomplished in my three years in the MAET program. I would still like to continue with technology and making sure that I don’t lose touch with things that are going on around me in this area. Some people once they have reached a goal in their life stop there and don’t continue to go on. I think I can see myself going on in the future and it will probably still be in technology.
Looking back at the past three years in this program and how I have grown as a student and teacher gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment of doing something that at the beginning I was unsure I could do to now feeling more confident at what the future holds for me in technology and teaching. I can say this isn’t the end of me learning as a student it is just the beginning.
