I have been thinking about the last year as I have been finishing up my web pages and other requirements. I realize that I really did not know what to expect when I began this program, and it's always been a little unclear where I was heading. But as I am finishing up the program its really exciting that I really do feel like I have accomplished something this year. My goal for this program was to become a better teacher, but after Touro my goals have expanded to helping myself and others to become better teachers as well. While I will always be striving to improve, I do believe that I am a better teacher now than I was a year ago because of this program. But watching my classmates do incredible things in their classrooms and investigate really interesting and important challenges in teaching has inspired me to continue pushing myself to be better, keep learning more about education, and to expand my range of influence. Who knows, maybe I'll get another masters in a few years.....maybe not.
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As a Jewish person who has never attended a Jewish school until this year, I have found it to be a really wonderful experience. Besides actually having my holidays off, I have been able to see Judaic principles of community service and social justice in action. With my own research I hope to spread a higher respect for our students. I believe that we as teachers need to be more willing to have conversations with our students about what, why, and how we teach. It is only when are willing to do this will our students become more informed, active participants in their own education. I think these ideas show respect for human dignity, encourages students to become life long learners, and is absolutely a student centered methodology.
Eventually I hope to publish the research I have done this year and to spread my ideas in that way. I will also continue to use the skills I gained this year and continue investigating what works best in my classroom through small action research cycles of my own. While this year has been a lot of work I feel like I am a better teacher because of it, and I want to push myself to continue getting better next year. |
Photo used under Creative Commons from trekkyandy