Upon completing my student teaching I wasn’t sure I was ready for my own classroom. I still felt naïve and unprepared for the responsibilities associated with teaching. Not quite sure what to do next, I decided to do something I always loved: learn. I chose to further my education by entering Michigan State University’s Masters of Arts in Education (MAED) program with a goal of becoming a better teacher. The motto of the MAED program is, “Come prepared to learn, leave prepared to lead." This motto encapsulated my goals for my graduate studies.

 

One reason I entered the MAED program was because I was seeking an opportunity to educate myself about empowering challenging students. I have always had a desire to work with challenging students  I have a passion for students that come to school with many years of defeat weighing on their shoulders because I want them to feel the success I know they are capable of. Due to these desires and passions, I had a goal of learning as much as I could about challenging behaviors and how to work with them so I would be prepared for any challenging students that came my way when I had my own classroom.

 

I was also craving an opportunity to learn about coaching, something I had always had an interest in, but had yet to experience. I elected to pursue a concentration in Sports Leadership and Coaching (SLC) with the goal of learning the basics of coaching. My goal with choosing to pursue the SLC was to eventually become a coach of a high school Ultimate Frisbee team.

 

As I am finishing up my graduate program, I have reflected on my initial goals. One goal that hasn’t changed is my goal of becoming a better teacher. I know I have developed my skill set as a teacher allowing me to begin achieving my goal of becoming a better a teacher. I want to put an emphasis on the word “begin.” As an educator, I believe it is important to be a life-long learner. The goal of becoming a better teacher is a goal I will carry with me throughout my life.

 

Looking further into the future, I have two big learning goals: become a USA Ultimate Certified Coach and become a National Board Certified Teacher. I would like to pursue a certificate with USA Ultimate so I can enhance my coaching knowledge with content specific to the sport I want to coach. This builds upon my original goal of learning the basics of coach. Since I have already laid the foundation for my coaching knowledge, my goal is to continue building upon that knowledge.

 

Becoming a National Board Certified teacher aligns with my original goal of becoming a better teacher as the certification puts a heavy emphasis on reflection of practice, allowing me to focus on my own growth as an educator. What began as a vague goal of educating myself has evolved into a more focused and concrete goal that will hopefully provide rewarding results for my future students.By bettering myself as a teacher, I will be better equipped to educate my students.

 

Moving forward though, my main goal has evolved. It is my current goal to find my own teaching (and coaching!) position so I can begin to implement all of the theory, concepts, and coursework I have been working with the past two years. I entered my MAED program to put off job searching, I am now ending my program relentlessly applying for jobs because I know my graduate studies have prepared me for my own class.