Like A Circle That Never Ends
By Amber Ricketts
In December of 2009 I applied to the Master of Art program in Education. All I had was a handful of teaching experiences. Although I was learning through my year long student teaching program at Michigan State University I still felt I was not competent enough. I did not know the first thing about teaching a student to read or love writing, nor did I know the process in which to teach them to their instructional needs. In many ways I felt like I was lacking, and the only thing that was going to help me was in combining my own teaching experiences with real applicable research. It was my hope that through obtaining my Masters degree, and the process along the way that I would develop a repertoire of strategies for how to become a more effective teacher in the area of reading and writing.
In the many months that have passed since I applied to the Master of Arts program in Education I have completed my first year as a teacher in Battle Creek, Michigan. Day in and day out I have gone back to the district by which I also received my k-12 education, and walked back into that community with the desire to help. From 2009 until this present day I have learned three valuable things that I will take with me throughout my years in life. The first of those precious lessons is that there is uplifting power in personal and open reflection. Every day I call upon my students to reflect upon their own lives. I ask them questions about their personal lives in the form of, “How many of you know someone who’s ever been divorced?” “Can you think of a time when you hurt someone else’s feelings?”, and “How can I be a better teacher for you?” With each hand they raise and with each stroke of the pencil upon their loose-leaf notebooks they are reflecting openly and out loud so that their thoughts and values can be shared and heard with themselves and the individuals around them. I have learned that if I expect my students to be reflectors in reference to their own work and life that I must also be reflecting upon my own. I journal with my students at least two to three times a week now, and the more I write and share with them the more willing they are to give of themselves and support me with their own comments and suggestions.
The second important thing I have learned is the power of critical thinking. Upon entering the classroom I bring with me my own ideals, stereotypes, and ways of thinking, which often do not reflect the thinking of my students. It is my job to show my students to think critically upon everything they hear, not just accepting it as a reality by which they have to conform to, but questioning it, thinking outside of the box, and making their own meaning when it comes to life and education. It’s okay to hear, “Miss Miller, I don’t agree with you,” or “Maybe you should have done this instead.” That tells me that the wheels are turning in their little heads, the light bulbs are going off, and when those light bulbs go off, they are equipped with the power to share that light with others.
Lastly, the most valuable thing I have learned is the power of developing personal relationships with my students. In my teaching philosophy statement written about a year and a half ago I talked about building authentic relationships with my students, getting to know them on a personal level, rather than just on an academic one. Looking back at that statement, it’s as if I did not know the power in those words, and the power that an educator holds on their shoulders every day. When I reach my school, shut the door to my car, and haul loads of breakfast materials, student work, and lesson plans upstairs I am not just a teacher. Some days I am mom, aunt, sister, nurse, and social worker, and even after the day is over, when I go home every night I am desperately trying to find some strategy by which I can reach them and make them better. Continuing my education has taught me that my work is never done. I am always learning, always changing, always searching for growth.
In the many months that have passed since I applied to the Master of Arts program in Education I have completed my first year as a teacher in Battle Creek, Michigan. Day in and day out I have gone back to the district by which I also received my k-12 education, and walked back into that community with the desire to help. From 2009 until this present day I have learned three valuable things that I will take with me throughout my years in life. The first of those precious lessons is that there is uplifting power in personal and open reflection. Every day I call upon my students to reflect upon their own lives. I ask them questions about their personal lives in the form of, “How many of you know someone who’s ever been divorced?” “Can you think of a time when you hurt someone else’s feelings?”, and “How can I be a better teacher for you?” With each hand they raise and with each stroke of the pencil upon their loose-leaf notebooks they are reflecting openly and out loud so that their thoughts and values can be shared and heard with themselves and the individuals around them. I have learned that if I expect my students to be reflectors in reference to their own work and life that I must also be reflecting upon my own. I journal with my students at least two to three times a week now, and the more I write and share with them the more willing they are to give of themselves and support me with their own comments and suggestions.
The second important thing I have learned is the power of critical thinking. Upon entering the classroom I bring with me my own ideals, stereotypes, and ways of thinking, which often do not reflect the thinking of my students. It is my job to show my students to think critically upon everything they hear, not just accepting it as a reality by which they have to conform to, but questioning it, thinking outside of the box, and making their own meaning when it comes to life and education. It’s okay to hear, “Miss Miller, I don’t agree with you,” or “Maybe you should have done this instead.” That tells me that the wheels are turning in their little heads, the light bulbs are going off, and when those light bulbs go off, they are equipped with the power to share that light with others.
Lastly, the most valuable thing I have learned is the power of developing personal relationships with my students. In my teaching philosophy statement written about a year and a half ago I talked about building authentic relationships with my students, getting to know them on a personal level, rather than just on an academic one. Looking back at that statement, it’s as if I did not know the power in those words, and the power that an educator holds on their shoulders every day. When I reach my school, shut the door to my car, and haul loads of breakfast materials, student work, and lesson plans upstairs I am not just a teacher. Some days I am mom, aunt, sister, nurse, and social worker, and even after the day is over, when I go home every night I am desperately trying to find some strategy by which I can reach them and make them better. Continuing my education has taught me that my work is never done. I am always learning, always changing, always searching for growth.
