4 Years+3 Locations+2 Jobs+1 Child=My Degree

The goal statement I wrote when I applied to the Master's program in the spring of 2008 is long gone. That may be in part to the biggest change I have experienced since beginning that first class in January 2009, my son. Shortly after our move to South Korea (another big change), he dropped our external hard drive and cracked the casing. Good-bye back up files. Some other files were still saved on CDs, but somehow, my early coursework, including my goal statement, never made it to a CD. I may have made the choice not to save them. How foolish that was.

 

When I first applied to the program, I had just finished my first year teaching in my own special education classroom. It was a rocky year. I was teaching in a pilot program and was facing many struggles with my administrators. Part of my goal of going back to school was to get the credits I needed to get my professional teaching certificate from Michigan. The provisional was causing me all kinds of trouble in Hawaii and resulted in spending more money on more tests, so I could teach there and keep the job that I loved. A job that had me working with some very difficult students. However, my conviction that all students could learn never wavered.

 

I knew that an online program was right for me. We were living a military lifestyle and even though my husband originally planned to get out of the Air Force, who knew if that would be the case in a couple years. I was right with the decision I made. I started my program in Hawaii. Two and a half years later, I moved to Monterey, CA. Six months after that, I found myself in Seoul, South Korea, where I currently sit. A conventional program would not have supported all those moves. I would have wasted time and money. I was already a comfortable computer used, but I have learned so much. I never would have thought four years ago that by the end of my program I would have been involved in two wikis (helping to create a page on one of them), created two websites, made two Prezi presentations, know how to use Photostory 3 and use it yearly to create slideshows for my son's birthday, or my latest triumph, putting screenshots and PDF documents into my portfolio. I am astounded daily with my new found technological prowess.

 

When I was teaching in Hawaii, I learned techniques I was able to apply right away to my practices. I wanted to focus on literacy education because I saw that as a daily struggle for my students. I wanted something that would be relevant to me. I wanted something that would be relevant for them. When I took time off teaching in preparation for a move we knew was coming, I had generous friends who lent me their children, so I could keep moving forward. This whole program was about moving forward.

 

I am not at the point in my career that I expected to be in 2008. I am working with infants and toddlers, another shock to the system when I think about it. However, I know that I am gaining experience. I am gaining insight. I am seeing another facet of the education system. I am encouraging children to crawl and walk. I am helping them to tune their fine and gross motor skills. I am experiencing genuine joy from them each day. I am an important part of their lives even if they will never remember me. Teaching isn't about being remembered. It is about being important. All forms of education are important.

 

I used to think about the kind of teacher I want to be. Four years after beginning such a wondrous journey, I now look at my two-year-old son and think about the kind of teacher I want him to have. Am I that kind of teacher? He inspires me to be a better teacher. In every decision I make in my classroom, I wonder how I would feel if my son's teacher did the same thing. Now I am not just going to be a teacher for me, but to be a teacher for him or rather for kids that are like him. Kids that are growing and dreaming every day. Kids that have parents who want to give them the best education possible. I teach for the kids. I teach for my son.