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Destination: Destiny

 

My Future Learning Goals Essay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When your name is Destiny, you automatically enter the world with some big shoes to fill. You cannot just be a regular individual; you have to accomplish something great. As a child, I feared this label, however as an adult, this label, this title, has become engrained into who I am. As I look into my life as an educator, the purpose that is attached to my name forever rings true, teaching was something that I was destined to do. As an educator who is constantly growing and changing, the definition of that destiny evolves every day that I teach and learn from my students. As I begin to examine what my destiny will be in the future, I see three things: Leadership in Education, Leadership in Technology and Cultural Responsive Teaching and Learning.  

 

When my teaching journey first began, I had no idea that I would end up here. Before I knew it, I had morphed in this educator. I use the term educator because I am more than just someone who trains. I mentor. As I fall into my fifth year of teaching, I know that my future includes something more. In order to achieve my new destiny, I have to transition into leadership in education. For some, just teaching and being with their students is enough, for me, that doesn’t cut it. I want to move into educational leadership because I see what education is lacking. I’m sure that I do not have all the answers to solve all the problems that plague education, but I am sure that I have a unique perspective to add. As an instructional coach, I genuinely want to help teachers be better. I want to reach and teach the whole child. In an effort to accomplish this goal, I hope to attend the Pathways to Leadership program within the next 3 years. Through Pathways, I can continue to hone my leadership skills and begin to acquire the skills necessary for me to reach the first component of my destiny.

 

In addition to being an educational leader, I want to become a technology leader. As a student in the Masters of Arts in Educational Technology program, becoming a technology leader is almost inherent. I want to share my knowledge and my new set of skills with the world. Often times educators do not see the value of technology in the classroom. Any new tech tool is sometimes viewed as something else, we’ve (teachers) got to use. Despite that misconception, I want to show my fellow educators that there can be a happy marriage between technology and content. To lay the ground work to begin to accomplish this future goal, I would like to present at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). MACUL is Michigan’s largest educational “tech showcase”.  I desire to share with the world that technology can be useful and helpful and that the marriage between technology and content can indeed be a happy one.

 

One of the last components to nailing down my destiny and my future as a learner is participating in Culturally Responsive Training. During my years as an undergraduate at MSU, I participated in the Urban Educator’s Cohort Program. My time in that program forever changed the fabric of who I was as an educator. It put me in a place where as an educator, I had to take into account the effect that someone’s race or culture could have on their ability to learn. As I’ve matriculated from a novice to seasoned educator, I’ve watched the faces and the cultures around me change. In an effort to be as connected and aware of the community that surrounds me, I have to know how to be culturally responsive. I know that through Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning training, I can make the necessary adjustments that allow me to forget race and remember culture and its impact on teaching and learning.    

 

Destinies and futures share one commonality, they are forever evolving and changing. As an educator, I know that who I am today is not who I will be in five or even ten years. But to be the best educator that I can, I have to be able to constantly reevaluate myself and who exactly I am. As an educator who believes that change is necessary, I know that my future as a learner will call for some serious changes and adjustments. In order to accomplish my destiny, I've got to be able to be an instructional and technology leader who is aware of the world that surrounds them. Through Pathways to Leadership, MACUL and Culturally Responsive training I can lay the foundation that will lead me to my final destination, Destiny.

 

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