Goals Accomplished, Goals Only Begun

     The goal that I have most tangibly reached is to strengthen my teaching ability in reading and writing. I love both of these subjects passionately, but I have always felt that my teaching was weak in these areas. Every course I took throughout my Master’s program helped me accomplish this goal, whether it was specific to this area or something more tangentially related. Courses in my Literacy Concentration have taught me many valuable techniques, such as using genre pedagogy in teaching writing, and philosophies, such as providing my students with quality literature they can study in-depth. Even courses in which the focus was technology have helped me improve my teaching of reading and writing. CEP820, Teaching K-12 Students Online, introduced me to Universal Design for Learning. Using UDL, I can design lessons that are beneficial and accessible for all of my students.Though both my grade level and my reading program have changed over the past four years, I have been able to use the tools and techniques I learned to improve my teaching in the areas of reading and writing.


     Lifelong learning is an essential part of being a teacher. You never leave the classroom, whether it is a formal classroom or the classroom of experience. I have successfully extended my learning through this Master’s program, but equally important, I have also modeled that desire to learn for my students. I enjoy the looks on their faces when I tell them that I, too, have homework to do or when I explain that we will be trying something new because I learned about it in one of my courses. I have modeled the joy of learning even as an adult. Now that my Master’s program is complete, I look forward to finding ways to continue to accomplish this goal.


     My striving for these goals will never end. I have set my sights high, and I am still determined to work towards these goals every day. My time spent in the MAED program at MSU was an essential stepping stone in this process. The knowledge and skills that I gained will help me as I daily progress towards achieving my goals.

     When I wrote my goal statement in June 2009, I set myself some lofty goals. I aimed high, knowing that my years spent in the Master’s program at MSU would stretch me both as a teacher and a student. I was right – I have learned more and worked harder than I ever expected. I have accomplished, at least in part, many of my goals.  And yet there are also goals upon which I have hardly begun to scratch the surface.

     My primary goal was, and remains, to be the best teacher that I can be. This is a goal that will last for a lifetime, one I will continue to work towards every day for my entire teaching career. My time spent in the MAED program has brought me a long way towards accomplishing this goal, but I know my work has only begun. I will grow and develop daily as I teach and learn from my students.

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