Next Steps In My Journey
By: Sara Rich
Thinking about your future can be exciting, scary, and nerve-racking all at the same time. Many of us know what we want to do tomorrow, or the next week, but to think about the future may bring some uncertainty. When I think about my future I have an idea of where I want to be and what I want to be doing, but know that things may change along the way.
Since beginning my teaching career in 2009, I have taken many steps in my journey. I have taught three different grade levels, been part of numerous committees and professional learning communities, and completed my master’s degree. Through my experiences thus far, I have been able to grow as an individual, learner, and teacher. I know that I could not imagine myself not in the education world and want to continue to further my learning in this field.
Over the past two years, I have thought more and more about what I want my future to look like. Leadership and technology were two main focuses of my master’s program and two areas
that I would like to continue to pursue in my career. Year after year, I have
taken part in many different committees; both at the school and district level,
and only want to further my participation in these. I would like to one day be
a teacher leader or principal and in order to do so I would like to continue taking
on leadership roles. I want to learn as much about my school and district as I
can. Some ways to do this will be to join our Continuing School Improvement
committee,curriculum committees, and continuing my role as head teacher for
our Student Council. I also hope to be a mentor for new teachers in our district.
I have also found a new passion for integrating technology into my classroom. I gained a deeper understanding about how to combine the curriculum and technology to help in my students’ learning. I want the technologies to be relevant in our society so my students can use them outside of school. Through Skype, Desire2Learn, Google Hangout, Google Docs, Prezi, Weebly, and Wix, I have been able to learn about different forms of technology and how I may incorporate them into my classroom. As more technology opportunities are offered in my school, all of the students will have more time to use them. As a learner like my students, I would like to continue my technology learning as well. Technology is like a revolving door and as new ones are introduced I want to make sure I continue to learn about them. I have experienced many different website pages, project design sites, and communication sites that I am using and will continue to use. I also hope to help my colleagues with these new technologies.
While in the midst of my master’s program, I thought this would be the end of of my college classes. Now that I have finished, I would like to continue to take courses to get my School Administrator Certificate. As a goal of mine, I cannot think of pushing it aside. It will give me even more insight into what it takes to be a leader and/or principal. I am hopeful this dream of mine will come true in the near future and be an option to pursue.
A passion of mine is to travel around the world. I have been to many places and seen different cultures and ways people live. I would love to continue traveling and help children around the world. I hope to one day assist in a school, orphanage, or build homes for children and families to live in. I want to be able to provide opportunities for children who are not as fortunate as I am.
As I envision my future, I know the opportunities are endless. I see myself taking every chance I can to continue to learn. I cannot count how many times I have been told to “Reach for the stars.” At this stage in my life, I feel that I can and will do whatever it takes to reach them. My master’s program has taught me a lot and opened up my eyes to many different possibilities. I went in with a primary focus on leadership and finished with an enthusiasm for learning technology, too. As one journey ends, I am excited for another one to begin.
