EDU 5011 Educational Studies Reflection

Confirming that teaching is indeed my calling in life, and an important way in which I will fulfill my mission, to facilitate changed lives, has been a process that has brought clarity into my life over the past 15 years.  I began my journey in career and technical education as a high school student, and then as a Marketing teacher.  Eleven years ago I switched gears and invested several years in the private sector as a trainer and training consultant for Dale Carnegie Training.  I came back to career and tech ed three years ago and it has set me on a course to truly invest in my passion as a teacher, coach, and mentor.

I always knew that I would eventually pursue a Masters degree, but life and time, career and family, and the demands of getting by in the day-to-day always got in the way of formalizing this plan.  I have spent the last three years taking a required program of study connected to licensure and accumulating graduate credits along the way, but I have done this work without a strong sense of purpose for my own educational and learning goals.  This Spring I committed to applying to a Masters program, having finally decided that an M.Ed. was the best fit for my personal and professional aspirations.  After searching for local options and struggling with transfer credits, I settled on my alma mater, Johnson State College.  A meeting with David McGough confirmed I was on the right track.  At the end of August, I started my first course: Educational Studies.  This course has been a transformational experience for me.  Not only have I had the opportunity to begin to enhance and build my professional credibility by grounding my values, beliefs, and methodologies in strong research and theory, I have had the chance to do some important inner work in my life.

The depth of knowledge and perspective I gained from being part of a class of motivated adult learners was unlike anything I have experienced as a student before.  After accumulating twenty-some-odd graduate credits over the past handful of years, I thought I had a sense of what graduate school would be like.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it could be so much more.  The Educational Studies course provided me with a solid foundation in learning theory, and graduate level research and writing.  It rekindled the eager life-long learner in me and forced me to examine my teaching practice in new ways.  Through this class I have found myself reflecting on why and how I teacher, what I can do to enhance, and where I can improve my practice.  This class has been a challenge and a gift.  Thank you David and fellow learners!

The McAdams Self Study was the most valuable investment of my time and energy that I have experienced in my time as a college student.  Through this process I was able to understand my personal narrative at a deeper level, and more importantly, discover my place in a family narrative that connects three generations.  Spending time in deep inquiry with my father fostered healing in our relationship that was long overdue.  The time invested with my grandfather, in the waning days of his life, was  priceless gift that allowed me to bear witness to a personal history this is a sacred treasure.  As a whole, the process reminded me that my commitment to putting relationships first in my work with students is not misplaced, but crucial, if not the most essential part of my work as a teacher.

Is the learning transferrable?  Absolutely!
Check out this example...yes it really happened this week.

As a creative being, I believe there is great intrinsic and extrinsic value in packaging our thoughts into compressed narratives that invite the reader to derive meaning by both what is written and what is not, what is explicitly presented and was is implied.  Some call it poetry.  I love how the National Poetry Foundation calls this kind of communication "a narrative of emotion".  It is frequently the style of written expression I gravitate to in times of reflection and contemplation.  We are both creatures of logic and emotion.  I appreciate the ability to access this duality of self through poetry.  I have attempted to capture the essence of why I teach in the narrative below.  

Spending the day with my grandfather,
Being recognized as a Vermont Outstanding Teacher by UVM,
Rediscovering my essential connections with my Dad.

Why I Teach

I teach because it is my calling in life

A divine plan laid out carefully

Not because it is a plan for every teacher

But because it is a plan for me

It is destiny

And in it I find a hope

And future

I teach because it is a yearning in my life

An act that I am drawn to instinctually

Not because I chose it

But because I cannot un-choose it

It is like home

And in it I find fulfillment

And restoration

I teach because I long to make a difference

To leave this world a better place

Not because I have some great power

But because it is worthy

It is a noble cause

And in it I find challenge

And satisfaction

I teach because someone believed in me

An asset that is transformative

Not because belief is enough

But because it is everything

It is what and why and how

And in it I find my place

And purpose

In the words of my wise four-year-old son, who pronounces that it should be so at the end of every story, "Amen".