26 Years in the Making: The Goals of a Lifelong Learner
I have been going to school now for over twenty-six years. This number spans my earliest academic beginnings through my three post-secondary degrees. Many ask me now that I’ve near completed my master’s degree if I plan on taking a break from school and just trying to apply my current learning skill sets to the classroom and students I service. My answer to this is quite simple, I will never stop learning. My goals for continuing on in my path of learning are to seek out further guidance and knowledge in the areas of literacy, differentiated instruction, and technology.
As an English teacher, literacy continues to be one of the biggest plights we face in the classroom. From teaching students basic skills they need to understand and navigate text, to growing as readers, literacy is at the heart of every subject area. Understanding this, I know that in order to be effective in the classroom I need to continually research new ways to reach out to students and bring fresh ideas into lesson plans. To help keep me on the cutting edge of current studies and areas of engagement for students, one of my goals is to attend a conference and become part of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). I believe that taking part in one of these conferences would not only be beneficial as I would be amongst my core subject area colleagues and would be able to meet others to share ideas and similar experiences, it would also assist me in keeping up with the latest practices and resources available to both teachers and students within the area of literacy. Another goal is to continue to seek out active and new ways to deliver materials to students. As we continue to face inclusion classrooms and students of varying skill sets we also need to look for new ways to present our lessons so they embrace the all students. One of the ways I feel this goal can be met is through the use of following learning sites such as Edutopia and Read,Write, Think. Both of these sites contain valuable information and resources for teachers, students, and parents in the way of practices that can be done both in the classroom and at home. They also incorporate the newest studies and tried-and-true lesson plans of how to engage learners of all levels, as well as provide information on the latest forms of professional development available to teachers. Through tracking and engaging with sites such as these on social media and through the use of directly accessing their websites I know they will further provide me with a vast variety of tools and ideas that will guide me creating differentiated lesson plans that work for all of my learners.
The last piece, and perhaps the tying bind of my goal, is to become more proficient in the use of technology in the classroom. As I look for new ways to promote literacy and differentiated learning into the classroom I know that having students work using technology will further aid in their learning. I plan to fulfill this goal by becoming a certified Google Educator through Google for Education. I feel that as a Google Educator I will be able to encapsulate all of my goals, as well as bring students into the 21st Century of learning through providing educational experiences that bring about both digital literacy and differentiated learning tasks, as well as preparing them for their future in learning.
In all, I feel that the goals I have set forth for myself not only connect to one another, but create a basis of learning in which I can continue to reach new heights in my teaching and build a firm foundation for myself as an educator. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” I feel that in looking towards my goals as insightful ways to mold me as an educator and help me grow I am not only immortalizing the efforts of the teachers I have learned from, but am helping instill new found passion for learning within the students I service.