The conference for St. Mary's master's students was quite enjoyable. I liked spending time with educators from many differing backgrounds and all their different perspectives they brought to the discussion. The one thing that was really refreshing was that I didn't come across anyone who was negative about our profession at all. Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut where its easy to blame the education system, administrators, and standardized testing for all of teaching woes. I did not really encounter that at all. We all know how much opposition we come across everyday so it was refreshing to just feel supported and connected to these educators.
I learned just how important it is to have great connections with kids for success in the classroom. That is something that I started to lose this year, I started to feel like I know my content really well, so I could really start pushing students hard to think deeper and work harder. I was reminded of just how much those personal connections are important to whether you will have successful students or not. One thing I took away is how meaningful it can be to reach out to parents at home with a note of something good their child is doing at school. I like being that positive force in a child's life and I hadn't truly considered the effect that could have on my relationship with kids and parents alike. I also hadn't considered how that would make a parent feel more connected to the school district, and shed a good light on our school overall.
Something I'm looking forward to next year is sharing my research with others. I feel like research is one of my strengths, and that I am motivated by learning as much as I can about a specific topic, possibly becoming expert like. I like having the feeling that something I may do in my classroom may teach others about how they may set up their lessons, classroom, or expectations to have gains in student learning. I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge with others.
I learned just how important it is to have great connections with kids for success in the classroom. That is something that I started to lose this year, I started to feel like I know my content really well, so I could really start pushing students hard to think deeper and work harder. I was reminded of just how much those personal connections are important to whether you will have successful students or not. One thing I took away is how meaningful it can be to reach out to parents at home with a note of something good their child is doing at school. I like being that positive force in a child's life and I hadn't truly considered the effect that could have on my relationship with kids and parents alike. I also hadn't considered how that would make a parent feel more connected to the school district, and shed a good light on our school overall.
Something I'm looking forward to next year is sharing my research with others. I feel like research is one of my strengths, and that I am motivated by learning as much as I can about a specific topic, possibly becoming expert like. I like having the feeling that something I may do in my classroom may teach others about how they may set up their lessons, classroom, or expectations to have gains in student learning. I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge with others.