Baby Steps to Success
Future Goals Essay
I found it ironic when I opened this module and saw that it was all about our future goals. Our district currently requires teachers to set goals as apart of our evaluation process and this is what I spent most of my weekend doing. One goal focuses on our grade level data, another on our individual data, and a third on something we want to specifically work on in our classroom. These goals are set with specific dates and percentages in mind. With the focus being on assessment results and data outcomes. However, when asked to think about my future goals as an educator for this class they do not contain assessments or percentages. They are not quite as easy to measure and I will not need documentation that proves I have met them. These goals are focused on making me a better educator for my students and my colleagues.
The goals I have for myself in the future are to better meet the needs of my English Language Learners, to become a teacher leader in my school, and to do a better job of integrating technology into the classroom.I have chosen these goals based on the current needs I see in my classroom and what I envision for myself as an educator. I plan to use the WIDA “Can Do” descriptors to help me meet the needs of my English Language Learners. I just recently became involved in the second cohort of the Achievement Centered Leadership program offered by Western Michigan University to help me on my journey to becoming a teacher leader. Lastly, I will use the knowledge and resources I have learned from taking TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology , this summer to help me better integrate technology into the classroom.
I have truly enjoyed my Masters program at MSU because I find everything is more applicable to my job now that I am a full time classroom teacher. When new approaches to learning or management techniques are mentioned I often already have a lesson or student in mind that it would apply to. I currently have my TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification but I do not feel I am well equipped to meet the needs of a diverse and ever growing population of English Language Learners (ELL). My school has a very large and ever growing ELL population, currently 25% of our population speaks another language at home. For me this is 6/26 students and in the past it has been nearly half of my class. Some students are coming to our school without knowing any English, some are coming here without ever attending school before.
There are so many things they need to learn is often difficult to figure out where to begin. By looking at the WIDA - Can Do descriptors we as teachers are reminded of all of the things our ELL students CAN DO, not what they can’t. These descriptors focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening and help teachers to determine what students are capable of doing; even if they appear as non-speakers. It also provides a great plan for what to do next once students have mastered a certain level of skill. Additionally, if is often difficult to know what to do once students have mastered conversational English. When it appears they are able to hold a conversation we often forget that they still need extra support. This resource also provides teachers with a clearer picture of what English Language Learners can do at each stage of their journey to becoming a proficient speaker of English.
The next goal is one that I have been working towards for my entire career as a teacher. Throughout my student teaching my mentor teacher was always one that other teachers would come to for advice. She had a way of helping them without seeming arrogant. She was able to guide them towards finding their own way to solve their problems. This was something I always admired about her and something I try to emulate. In my fourth year as a teacher I am taking on more leadership roles. I am one of the facilitators of our Professional Learning Community and have been asked by my principal to join him at the Achievement Centered Leadership Conferences held several times this year. I believe through these roles I will be able to become the kind of leader my mentor teacher was to me. Being a teacher leader can be difficult. It often requires more time and effort. It also can be hard to balance being a leader and not coming off as authoritative and arrogant. Even with the downfalls of being a leader I feel the support leaders provide to their teammates and the influence that good teacher leadership can have on student success far outweighs the negatives.
Lastly, I would like to do a better job of integrating technology into my classroom. I took a class this summer that described our current learners as Digital Natives. Students who were born into an era saturated with technology. An era where we no long need clocks to tell time, maps to give directions, or encyclopedias to look up information. Most of what they need to know is at their fingertips and can be found with the click of a button. In a data conference the other week we were asked to list risk factors for our students below grade level. As we discussed each student a pattern began to arise. Several teachers were stating attention issues for nearly every student on the list. This really got me thinking. It is an attention issue or an issue with the instruction. Are students not engaged because they cannot focus or because the way we are teaching is not the way they learn best? I have come to realize that although it may feel like I am handing over my job to a computer or Ipad in reality I am providing my students the opportunity to learn in the way that suits them best. I would do this for visual or kinesthetic learners. So why not do it for students who learn best through technology?
Setting these goals is the easy part. Following through with them is what proves to be more difficult. I have found that in order for me to be successful with my goals I need to be reminded of them often. I also need to bite off little chunks at a time and not try to accomplish everything all at once. Teaching can be overwhelming and it can often feel like you are never doing enough. Setting these goals and taking baby steps to reach them is something that allows me to feel successful as a teacher. These goals are ideals that I will strive to reach. However, if I do not become the best ESL teacher or the best teacher leader, each step I take towards trying to meet these goals will make me a better educator than I was the day before.
The goals I have for myself in the future are to better meet the needs of my English Language Learners, to become a teacher leader in my school, and to do a better job of integrating technology into the classroom.I have chosen these goals based on the current needs I see in my classroom and what I envision for myself as an educator. I plan to use the WIDA “Can Do” descriptors to help me meet the needs of my English Language Learners. I just recently became involved in the second cohort of the Achievement Centered Leadership program offered by Western Michigan University to help me on my journey to becoming a teacher leader. Lastly, I will use the knowledge and resources I have learned from taking TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology , this summer to help me better integrate technology into the classroom.
I have truly enjoyed my Masters program at MSU because I find everything is more applicable to my job now that I am a full time classroom teacher. When new approaches to learning or management techniques are mentioned I often already have a lesson or student in mind that it would apply to. I currently have my TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification but I do not feel I am well equipped to meet the needs of a diverse and ever growing population of English Language Learners (ELL). My school has a very large and ever growing ELL population, currently 25% of our population speaks another language at home. For me this is 6/26 students and in the past it has been nearly half of my class. Some students are coming to our school without knowing any English, some are coming here without ever attending school before.
There are so many things they need to learn is often difficult to figure out where to begin. By looking at the WIDA - Can Do descriptors we as teachers are reminded of all of the things our ELL students CAN DO, not what they can’t. These descriptors focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening and help teachers to determine what students are capable of doing; even if they appear as non-speakers. It also provides a great plan for what to do next once students have mastered a certain level of skill. Additionally, if is often difficult to know what to do once students have mastered conversational English. When it appears they are able to hold a conversation we often forget that they still need extra support. This resource also provides teachers with a clearer picture of what English Language Learners can do at each stage of their journey to becoming a proficient speaker of English.
The next goal is one that I have been working towards for my entire career as a teacher. Throughout my student teaching my mentor teacher was always one that other teachers would come to for advice. She had a way of helping them without seeming arrogant. She was able to guide them towards finding their own way to solve their problems. This was something I always admired about her and something I try to emulate. In my fourth year as a teacher I am taking on more leadership roles. I am one of the facilitators of our Professional Learning Community and have been asked by my principal to join him at the Achievement Centered Leadership Conferences held several times this year. I believe through these roles I will be able to become the kind of leader my mentor teacher was to me. Being a teacher leader can be difficult. It often requires more time and effort. It also can be hard to balance being a leader and not coming off as authoritative and arrogant. Even with the downfalls of being a leader I feel the support leaders provide to their teammates and the influence that good teacher leadership can have on student success far outweighs the negatives.
Lastly, I would like to do a better job of integrating technology into my classroom. I took a class this summer that described our current learners as Digital Natives. Students who were born into an era saturated with technology. An era where we no long need clocks to tell time, maps to give directions, or encyclopedias to look up information. Most of what they need to know is at their fingertips and can be found with the click of a button. In a data conference the other week we were asked to list risk factors for our students below grade level. As we discussed each student a pattern began to arise. Several teachers were stating attention issues for nearly every student on the list. This really got me thinking. It is an attention issue or an issue with the instruction. Are students not engaged because they cannot focus or because the way we are teaching is not the way they learn best? I have come to realize that although it may feel like I am handing over my job to a computer or Ipad in reality I am providing my students the opportunity to learn in the way that suits them best. I would do this for visual or kinesthetic learners. So why not do it for students who learn best through technology?
Setting these goals is the easy part. Following through with them is what proves to be more difficult. I have found that in order for me to be successful with my goals I need to be reminded of them often. I also need to bite off little chunks at a time and not try to accomplish everything all at once. Teaching can be overwhelming and it can often feel like you are never doing enough. Setting these goals and taking baby steps to reach them is something that allows me to feel successful as a teacher. These goals are ideals that I will strive to reach. However, if I do not become the best ESL teacher or the best teacher leader, each step I take towards trying to meet these goals will make me a better educator than I was the day before.