Tonight was our last class in Nature of Schools, and I must say that this class was definitely a learning experience. Even though it occurred in a short period of time, and was very intensive, I learned allot not only as myself as a learner, but as the teacher that I aspire to be. This class demonstrated to me the avenues of technology that are available for educating my students, and participating in this experience opened my eyes to the possibilities as well as helped me get acclimated with the technology. This experience also taught me a lot about myself as a learner and future teacher. It taught me that I want to provide my students with a caring, trusting, and respectful environment to learn. As well as give them the best authentic, and well rounded education to help them become active members of society, as well as prepare them for the world ahead. Personally, this class challenged my abilities and took me out of my comfort zone. It made me practice with different avenues of technology, tested my time management, enhanced my collaborative skills (YAY GROUP 1!) and was all worth it! I must admit, it wasn't always daisy's and rainbows, at times I really felt challenged and had to refocus myself for the task at hand. But I am proud to say I rose to the challenge and feel confident in my newly found knowledge of Nature of Schools.
On a more academic note, this class opened my eyes and mind to the true Nature of Schools. It provided with an education about subjects that I lacked knowledge as well as experience in, such as charter schools, glogger, how much technology has evolved, WizIQ, politics+education, public vs. private schools, homeschooling, creating a school of the future, multicultural curriculum... the list can go on. But at the end of the day, it made me realize that I definitely want to be an agent of change once I enter a classroom, and a school district... or even all the classrooms and districts that I have the opportunity to experience and work with. Education is a defining factor in our society and in the lives of our students, so YES the structure of schools/teachers are necessary, and as a future change agent (teacher) it is my job to make sure that my students are being provided with the best knowledge, skills and experiences!!!
To my peers... thank you for a great experience. We were definitely all in this together, and you made the experience that much more enjoyable. I learned so much from all of your projects, from ipads, RTI, smartboards, To Drop our or Not to drop out?, bullying, etc. All the presentations were fantastic! And I am sure Dr. Smirnova will enjoy reading them!! Dr. Smirnova, thank you for this unique and beneficial experience, you took me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to try new things!!
Lastly, and certainly not least... to GROUP 1- Lighting the Way. Jon, Cori and Nicole, thank you sooooooooo much for all your support and effort, we worked well together and I would be honored if we ever got the opportunity to work together again. Thank you for keeping me grounded!!
Well "That's All Folks!!", Best of Luck to everyone on the future endeavours as Change Agents. Remember to keep Learning, Growing and Exploring.
Yours in Teaching,
Jess
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