Living a Life of Learning
By Scott Repicky
"What is troubling is not just being average but settling for it. When the stakes are our lives and the lives of our children, we want no one to settle for average." - Atul Gawande*
Gawande's message of never settling for being average is paramount to my vision of my future as an educator. As I am approaching the end of my Master's program, I see my studies of education as only beginning, rather than ending. Throughout this program, I have gained a renewed sense of wanting to learn and better myself, so that I can educate my students as best as I possibly can. I do not want to settle for being average and want to challenge myself to be better.
As my Master's program ends, I have already enrolled in a course through the Principal's Training Center (PTC) to continue my formal education. The PTC is a series of week long courses designed to prepare principals or aspiring principals for the leadership responsibilities of becoming a principal. I am excited to begin this new program and look forward to learning more theory and practical applications of that theory to advance my leadership skills.
Also, to continue my formal education, I plan on looking into continuing to take courses at a university next fall. While I'm not sure if I want to take these courses just as an addition to my Master's program or if I want to work towards another degree, my main focus with these courses would be to further educate myself and to challenge myself as a professional.
In addition to the two formal education opportunities I listed above, I also plan on taking advantage of attending education conferences and also looking for other professional development opportunities online. With being one of the first people to graduate from my school with a Master's degree earned completely online, I have also found through my own research several webinars and other online learning opportunities that I plan to pursue. This Master's program has unlocked the door to the significant amount of learning that can be done outside of the walls of a classroom. The reality is for many professionals online learning courses are going to become more and more prevalent because of their convenience and the use of technology in education is becoming much more common place. Online learning will give me the opportunity to study in other countries while I live in Luxembourg, so I see my continued education not only being in the United States, but also open to professional development opportunities in England, Canada, Australia, etc.
Another goal that I am going to continue to work towards as a lifelong learner is learning another language. As someone who lives abroad and has struggled with learning the languages in Luxembourg (there are three official languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish), I am determined to learn another language, so that I can assimilate into the local society better. While this has been very difficult for me, I am determined and will continue to make progress with this.
I firmly believe that all of these opportunities will push me to not stay average as an educator. As someone who is responsible for shaping the lives of children, I realize it is also my responsibility to continue to learn so that I know what are the best practices out there for me to use in the classroom. If I stop learning and become complacent, ultimately it is my students who are going to suffer.
With all of the advances and new developments in technology, I need to continue to learn what is available and to think of how I can best put them to use in the classroom. I also need to think of ways to use the tools of technology in the classroom, not simply because they will be seen as cool and fun, but because they provide another way to enhance and support student learning. This Master's program has started me down this road of learning what is available with technology. I have started using a Wiki and a blog in my classroom and with the grade level. However, I can not simply say, "Well I've done these two things, I have now covered using technology in the classroom." I have to continue to experiment and try new things and not just settle for what I know.
I also need to explore how I can use technology to expand learning outside of the classroom. This type of learning will become more and more essential to create a closer link between the type of learning that happens at school and at home. It will also provide greater communication with parents about what the students are expected to know and understand.
Essentially, when I look at my future as a learner, I see my education as never ending. I will always be living a life of learning and if I ever stop feeling this way it is time for me to stop being an educator because it is not fair to my students and their learning. Whether it is reading an educational text, taking a formal course, or simply exploring the available technology tools online, I owe it to my students to not settle for simply being average. They deserve better than that and my greatest responsibility as an educator is the education I provide for them.
Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." While I certainly don't know what exactly the future holds in store for me, I do know that I owe it to my students to continue to learn and develop as an educator, so I can provide them with the best possible education.
*Quote taken from Better by A. Gawande (2008)
Gawande's message of never settling for being average is paramount to my vision of my future as an educator. As I am approaching the end of my Master's program, I see my studies of education as only beginning, rather than ending. Throughout this program, I have gained a renewed sense of wanting to learn and better myself, so that I can educate my students as best as I possibly can. I do not want to settle for being average and want to challenge myself to be better.
As my Master's program ends, I have already enrolled in a course through the Principal's Training Center (PTC) to continue my formal education. The PTC is a series of week long courses designed to prepare principals or aspiring principals for the leadership responsibilities of becoming a principal. I am excited to begin this new program and look forward to learning more theory and practical applications of that theory to advance my leadership skills.
Also, to continue my formal education, I plan on looking into continuing to take courses at a university next fall. While I'm not sure if I want to take these courses just as an addition to my Master's program or if I want to work towards another degree, my main focus with these courses would be to further educate myself and to challenge myself as a professional.
In addition to the two formal education opportunities I listed above, I also plan on taking advantage of attending education conferences and also looking for other professional development opportunities online. With being one of the first people to graduate from my school with a Master's degree earned completely online, I have also found through my own research several webinars and other online learning opportunities that I plan to pursue. This Master's program has unlocked the door to the significant amount of learning that can be done outside of the walls of a classroom. The reality is for many professionals online learning courses are going to become more and more prevalent because of their convenience and the use of technology in education is becoming much more common place. Online learning will give me the opportunity to study in other countries while I live in Luxembourg, so I see my continued education not only being in the United States, but also open to professional development opportunities in England, Canada, Australia, etc.
Another goal that I am going to continue to work towards as a lifelong learner is learning another language. As someone who lives abroad and has struggled with learning the languages in Luxembourg (there are three official languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish), I am determined to learn another language, so that I can assimilate into the local society better. While this has been very difficult for me, I am determined and will continue to make progress with this.
I firmly believe that all of these opportunities will push me to not stay average as an educator. As someone who is responsible for shaping the lives of children, I realize it is also my responsibility to continue to learn so that I know what are the best practices out there for me to use in the classroom. If I stop learning and become complacent, ultimately it is my students who are going to suffer.
With all of the advances and new developments in technology, I need to continue to learn what is available and to think of how I can best put them to use in the classroom. I also need to think of ways to use the tools of technology in the classroom, not simply because they will be seen as cool and fun, but because they provide another way to enhance and support student learning. This Master's program has started me down this road of learning what is available with technology. I have started using a Wiki and a blog in my classroom and with the grade level. However, I can not simply say, "Well I've done these two things, I have now covered using technology in the classroom." I have to continue to experiment and try new things and not just settle for what I know.
I also need to explore how I can use technology to expand learning outside of the classroom. This type of learning will become more and more essential to create a closer link between the type of learning that happens at school and at home. It will also provide greater communication with parents about what the students are expected to know and understand.
Essentially, when I look at my future as a learner, I see my education as never ending. I will always be living a life of learning and if I ever stop feeling this way it is time for me to stop being an educator because it is not fair to my students and their learning. Whether it is reading an educational text, taking a formal course, or simply exploring the available technology tools online, I owe it to my students to not settle for simply being average. They deserve better than that and my greatest responsibility as an educator is the education I provide for them.
Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." While I certainly don't know what exactly the future holds in store for me, I do know that I owe it to my students to continue to learn and develop as an educator, so I can provide them with the best possible education.
*Quote taken from Better by A. Gawande (2008)