Long Live My Inner Spartan
By: Stephanie Jablonski
"Education is not preparation for life; it is life itself."-John Dewey
I have loved learning since I was a young child. I think this is the reason I have always wanted to be a teacher. New ideas and concepts have always been exciting to me, and I’ve always said if my job could be a full-time student for the rest of my life with some teaching on the side, I would be very content! I knew that after I completed my bachelor’s degree that I wanted to study literacy; as I have stated in my previous essays and assignments, it has always been a passion of mine, and I have wanted to make it my primary focus. My primary reason for wanting to have more of a focus on literacy is to reach one of my goals of becoming a literacy coach. I hope to one day have the opportunity to work with at-risk students who need special attention and small group instruction in reading and writing. Now that I am approaching the end of my master’s concentration in literacy, I do feel better prepared to be in this position. While I do feel more confident in the area of literacy, this program has made me more aware of different ways to assess and diagnose needs within reading and writing, and I would like to study these more in depth.
Being in my fourth year of teaching and having gone through this program, I have become more aware of how many English Language Learners are a part of school systems in this current day. As an educator, I would like to learn more on how to better instruct these students in my classroom, and how to build both their academic and everyday vocabulary more effectively. I currently have three English Language Learners in my classroom, and while I have been using assessments and strategies that I have learned through this program to better instruct them, I still do not feel confident in knowing what is important to focus on with them and how to go about teaching them the language and how to use it in their reading and writing. I hope that in my future learning I can be exposed to better ways tor each these students in my literacy instruction.
Technology is also a constant addition and ever-changing part of education, and I predict that it will become the primary way that we teach throughout my career. I already use a Smart Board for most of my lessons in my own classroom, as well as different assessment and instructional tools on computers and handheld devices. I hope that as I continue my career in education that I will continue to learn new and innovative ways to use technology in my instruction. I have become more open to using technology in my classroom instruction through this masters program and in my first few years of teaching after being exposed to so many types and ways of utilizing it within my classroom. Technology can be used to engage students in authentic learning, and I do see it becoming more of a part of our daily lives in so many ways. I want to embrace this “technology movement” and continue to learn how to use it effectively in my workplace and with my students.
Finally, a personal goal of mine has always been to study creative writing. I with to pursue a program that teaches me the basics of an art that I already enjoy so much, and to learn more techniques that I can use to better improve my writing. One dream I have in my life is to write a novel, and to be able to study the art form of some of my favorite authors and learn different techniques that they have used in their writing that have allowed their words to reach the hands of so many readers would be such a thrill. I hope that one day I can study creative writing and personally grow as a writer and hopefully one day an author.
Learning has always excited me, and I continue to look forward to each day that I have the opportunity to learn something new about our world! I am excited to continue to exercise my inner Michigan State spartan throughout my life; my spartan who has continued to love learning and grow in education throughout my seven years as a student at this university.
