Professional Development Reflection
Since starting at Cal Poly Humboldt in Fall 2021, I feel as though I have greatly developed as an educator. I had minimal classroom management skills starting my undergraduate and now I feel confident to grab the attention of the class or handle any behaviors thrown at me in a classroom setting. Since my focus is on special education, I tend to gravitate towards the students in the classroom that have IEPs, 504s, or behavioral intervention plans. I got to implement so much of my learning this semester with students in SAI and SDC classrooms. It was my first time having a "break through" moment with a few students and it was incredible!
In my two years here I never had a steady fieldwork placement which at times was stressful but overall beneficial. I started substitute teaching in January and since then I have had over 220 students. Every classroom and every student taught me something. I had many mentor teachers at Dows Prairie Elementary School who opened up their classrooms and took me under their wing-special shout out to Jackie Hauger and Nikki Scace! While working in the same kindergarten classes over the course of the last few months I was able to observe the students closely and it was fascinating to see what a wide range kindergartners can be at. I had students that had the reading skills and penmanship of a third grader and others who couldn't write their own name at all. This was very eye opening to what kind of range I could be teaching in the future.
I am eager to start my next journey in my career as a transitional kindergarten teacher. I am ready to have my own classroom and I am so excited for what I will learn from this year's teaching. I believe this job will help me with my professional development before I enter my credential program next fall.
In my two years here I never had a steady fieldwork placement which at times was stressful but overall beneficial. I started substitute teaching in January and since then I have had over 220 students. Every classroom and every student taught me something. I had many mentor teachers at Dows Prairie Elementary School who opened up their classrooms and took me under their wing-special shout out to Jackie Hauger and Nikki Scace! While working in the same kindergarten classes over the course of the last few months I was able to observe the students closely and it was fascinating to see what a wide range kindergartners can be at. I had students that had the reading skills and penmanship of a third grader and others who couldn't write their own name at all. This was very eye opening to what kind of range I could be teaching in the future.
I am eager to start my next journey in my career as a transitional kindergarten teacher. I am ready to have my own classroom and I am so excited for what I will learn from this year's teaching. I believe this job will help me with my professional development before I enter my credential program next fall.
Self-Reflection of My Own Development
When entering my first semester of the LSEE program I had no idea what was in store for me. I thought I would learn the CA standards and good attention grabbers, but I did not expect my entire concept of what I know about history being flipped upside down. Dr. Sara Sterner's class on elementary education social studies exposed me to the term "hard history". Professor Sterner took my schema of world history and blew it wide open. She pointed out perspectives I never thought of, shared accurate historical events told from both sides, but most of all she taught us how to be respectful of every human's background and story. She taught us that we don't need to sugar coat history for students. They have a right to know what has happened in the history of the world, how people used to treat different races and still do to this day. We share the "hard history" because it is the real history and is used to not repeat prejudiced mistakes.
I took a handful of really intriguing classes alongside literacy, science, and math during my time at Cal Poly Humboldt. My two favorites were classes taught on critical race theory and bilingual education. Growing up in a predominately English speaking, white culture/neighborhood I was not exposed to the same social topics and issues that my students might be going through. These classes opened my eyes to ways in which I can support my students and use their cultural background & native languages to help them succeed in school.
I took a handful of really intriguing classes alongside literacy, science, and math during my time at Cal Poly Humboldt. My two favorites were classes taught on critical race theory and bilingual education. Growing up in a predominately English speaking, white culture/neighborhood I was not exposed to the same social topics and issues that my students might be going through. These classes opened my eyes to ways in which I can support my students and use their cultural background & native languages to help them succeed in school.
Professional Goal Statement
My career timeline is ever changing. But, as of right now here is how I hope my educational career goes for the next couple years.
1 Year - I will be finishing up my first year teaching TK and getting ready to enter my credential program in the fall. I am going to apply to Cal Poly SLO at my #1 choice. After that I will apply to UCSB and CSU for the mild/moderate credential program.
3 Years - Three years from now I hope to have obtained multiple things. First, I want to have my mild/moderate teaching credential. Second, I want to either obtain a second masters in education & leadership or I want to get my second teaching credential for general education. Third, unrelated to school, I hope to be settled down in Los Osos somewhere close to my family and friends.
5 Years - It's crazy to try and think about where I will be five years from now. I am hoping I am well traveled by then. Seen Hawaii, visited family in Tennessee, saw all the national parks, or learned a new language. I hope to have taught somewhere besides California. Maybe I move to Tennessee for a while and live with my family or I go teach English as a second language in Costa Rica. I know for a fact I will want to not be stagnant in my small hometown. I also hope to have a routine down with my teaching. Not having to start from scratch each new school year.
10 Years - I will be really surprised honestly if I stay in a regular school setting for this many consecutive years. I have always seen myself working at a dance studio teaching children with varying physical abilities or working more in the community. Maybe I will even start my community project I wrote about in my senior year of college. As for my personal life 10 years from now, I hope to be married and with children. I'm not sure if I will still want to be in SLO county or even in California but I know I will want to be settled down.
1 Year - I will be finishing up my first year teaching TK and getting ready to enter my credential program in the fall. I am going to apply to Cal Poly SLO at my #1 choice. After that I will apply to UCSB and CSU for the mild/moderate credential program.
3 Years - Three years from now I hope to have obtained multiple things. First, I want to have my mild/moderate teaching credential. Second, I want to either obtain a second masters in education & leadership or I want to get my second teaching credential for general education. Third, unrelated to school, I hope to be settled down in Los Osos somewhere close to my family and friends.
5 Years - It's crazy to try and think about where I will be five years from now. I am hoping I am well traveled by then. Seen Hawaii, visited family in Tennessee, saw all the national parks, or learned a new language. I hope to have taught somewhere besides California. Maybe I move to Tennessee for a while and live with my family or I go teach English as a second language in Costa Rica. I know for a fact I will want to not be stagnant in my small hometown. I also hope to have a routine down with my teaching. Not having to start from scratch each new school year.
10 Years - I will be really surprised honestly if I stay in a regular school setting for this many consecutive years. I have always seen myself working at a dance studio teaching children with varying physical abilities or working more in the community. Maybe I will even start my community project I wrote about in my senior year of college. As for my personal life 10 years from now, I hope to be married and with children. I'm not sure if I will still want to be in SLO county or even in California but I know I will want to be settled down.
