Moving Forward, Looking Back

As of last week, I've submitted for review my final paper demonstrating my rationale for my MA cognate project.  In my final reflection, I wrote about Moving Forward, Looking Back: 

Aside from exposure to the works of great thinkers, writers and advocates for student rights in reading and language education, graduate school has also introduced me to individuals who have played fundamental roles in keeping my candle lit for teaching during a challenging time for teachers.  At the end of the day, I can always count on a passionate discussion about education with a handful of colleagues in my field, because they too place the inherent knowledge and abilities of children at the forefront of teaching and learning.  These people agree that the students often labeled as "lows" in school are the "highs" in our eyes because they come to the classroom with infinite degrees of knowing about the world and how it works.   A conversation with any of my colleagues usually begins by sharing bits of our day. We start out slowly, revealing just a sliver. Then some thinking time, then more bits, more listening, more thinking, more bits. The conversation bounces around from bits of the day, to stories from our lives, to books, to laughter and back to bits from the day. Our thinking layers on top of each other. The learning from the day blends together, working its way into our tapestry of understanding.  Common themes slowly surface.

As great educators themselves, my colleagues always let me be myself.  They accept my messy thinking, and allow me to change my mind and grow as a learner, teacher, and as a person without judgment or pressure. They encourage me to continue writing reflectively, and often fuel my ever-growing library of literature and education books.  I am a better educator, wife, mother and friend because of the people I've met as a graduate student.

Though I may not have my dream teaching job yet, I am growing and learning each day through my relationships with educational theorists I engage with in print such as, John Dewey, Yetta Goodman, Vivian Gussin-Paley, Frank Smith and Reggie Routeman to name a few, and through the relationships with colleagues and friends I've made in my graduate program.  It is these people, and the children I have the privilege of getting to get to know (even if it is for only a day), who push me to think critically about teaching, parenting and living in this world.  I am realizing it takes many layers to become a reflective educator. I’m thankful to have all of my past, present and future students and colleagues in my life to share with, and grow from. They are the reason I’m the teacher I am.