Spearman
Jessica
Bringing it all together...
By: Jessica McVettie
I specifically remember seeing a quote Dr. Martin Luther King once said on a piece of art that read, “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, quality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, other-centered men can build up.” This quote resonated with me on many levels, but really adhered to what I wanted the outcome of my career as an educator to be. I wanted to be the other centered man who promoted social justice and rebuilt a system that would service and benefit all students and educators alike.
Throughout my first year of teaching, the days were long, there were more papers to grade than I had ever anticipated, but I was beginning to see how being a teacher wasn’t just about being a role model, it was something bigger. I wanted to further myself professionally by looking into new ways of teaching, and keeping up to date, but I also wanted to reach beyond my classroom. I still had yet to find the secret, or what I felt would help identify me as an “other-centered” person, the kind Dr. King described. I knew I could potentially improve a student's grade on a vocabulary test, or open their eyes to new literature, but I didn’t know how I could measure up to the people Dr. King was referring to. When I entered the MAED program at Michigan State, I was returning to the place that gave me the tools to start out on my journey, but the MAED helped me to find the path and answers.
Though I didn’t recognize it at the time, TE804 jump-started the journey into who I was in the classroom. Reflection and Inquiry Into Teaching Practices II with Betsy Ferrer helped me to answer the very important questions: In the field of education, who do you want to be? Often times we were asked to think about what we wanted our teaching to DO as a direct reflection of who we were in the classroom. Betsy Ferrer was both instructional and inspirational when it came to providing an exceptional model of committing yourself to teaching while incorporating your values and experiences in the classroom. Our final assignment was open ended and allowed us to explore what we learned throughout our internship year. I elected to look at who I was as teacher in the classroom, and how that affected the way my students perceived me. By video taping myself in the classroom (a daunting and ominous task), I was able to do a lot of reflecting about what my teaching was doing, who it was reaching, and who it wasn’t. I found that when I was trying to be my mentor teacher, or another teacher I had seen model during the internship, I was coming off as artificial and insincere. Consequently, I found that when I began acting more like myself and showing more of who I was, I was able to establish connections with my students that translated into a greater learning community. When I think about what I wanted my teaching to DO, I wanted it to show students that I was genuine and wanted to be there for them. I had a profound dedication to the field of education, and a profound dedication to the students who I served.
Moreover, several other courses shaped my MAED experience, but leadership was at the forefront for the majority of the MAED program. I elected to complete the Post Secondary Leadership concentration because, like Dr. King, I knew strong leadership would be the foundation that helped mold me into the educator and professional I wanted to be. If I wanted to find out how to be a beacon of change, I needed to start from the ground up. EAD 877 Program Planning and Evaluating in Post Secondary Context allowed me to look at the program and school as a system outside of my tiny classroom. I had not considered the stature of what it took to run a school, nor higher education program. This course began to show me how important it was to have a shared vision, something that everyone truly believes in, in order to run a successful program. The course helped me understand how as a teacher, I am piece of the puzzle that works towards a collective change that, as educators, we all need to look toward.
This course not only helped me think about the big picture and the ways in which schools were run administratively, it also changed my perception about the student council I worked with on a daily basis. My student council was the place where I was initially drawn to the idea of where impact lies: the minds of my students. If I could apply what I had learned about program planning towards the student leaders in my school, think about what is possible if these students carried on the tradition of a successful model of evaluation, planning, and organization. It was a partnership of giving the students the tools and opportunities to be part of a successful program and leading them towards continuing on that success beyond the classroom.
As I began to conceptualize and realize and see the ways I could create tangible outcomes towards making a positive change, I took EAD 801 Leadership and Organizational Development. Though I had been involved with leadership development before, I had a vision of what a leader was, not necessarily what components make that person a leader in the eyes of their constituents. Professor Nancy Colflesh introduced our class to the book, The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know. The book outlined what characteristics people look for the most in leaders both in education and out. It caused me to look beyond who I thought a leader was, and reflect on the true leaders in my school and community. Professor Colflesh pushed me to think about how norms and understanding of group dynamic, trust, and steadfast values all are integral parts of being a leader. More importantly, I learned that leadership is not commanding others to follow you, but inspiring them through your words and actions.
Furthermore, EAD 801 gave me a greater understanding of what it was to be a female leader and educator. As a female, we are thought of as being driven by emotions, but often times these emotions and empathy towards others are what provide the most impact and change. Collectively, women educators tend to join the profession because they want to make a change, and often thought of the ones who can. This made me feel as if I was part of a greater group of women and teachers who set out on the same path as I had. The book, Women and Educational Leadership, in conjunction with Professor Colflesh, helped me conceive that the change I wanted to make did not need to come in volumes or large capacities, but it needed to inspire others to make a change, as well. This change could only be done if I recognized the leadership potential I possessed, acted with integrity and commitment to the students I taught and colleagues I worked with.
While both courses helped me to understand how as an educator I had the capacity to be a leader and promote change, EAD 822 Engaging Diverse Students and Families was the single most impactful and challenging course I took throughout the MAED program. Professor Khalifa provided a challenging and thought-provoking course that altered the way I thought about the role of education in society today, and where I fit in as that change I was looking for. The course examined the different socioeconomic, gender, and racial make-up of our school systems and aimed to debunk many of the stereotypes that come with them. Professor Khalifa challenged my initial understanding of how education currently serves students and the ways it should serve students. He forced us to look at our own thoughts and views and assess how they were made up and how they ultimately translated into the way we teach our students. The most important part of the course was focused on how we can make positive changes in our classrooms to provide an inclusive and culturally responsive curriculum that would benefit all students.
One such example of this was a study that was done on principals in urban school districts and what they do in order to transform their schools into communities where education is made possible through cooperation from students, families, and principals. This particular study had impact on my thinking because it showed how strong leadership and a shared vision, both of which were included in EAD 877 and EAD 801, helped to bring about positive change and opportunity to the school. This was not simply the recognition of how it could be done, it was a realization of who could do it. EAD 822 emphasized Dr. King’s message of providing equitable, fair education for all students. This doesn’t always mean monetarily fair, but fair within the scope that education reaches beyond academia and touches every student on a personal level.
The MAED program not only taught me about leadership and the foundations of education, my time in the program taught me a lot about myself. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I committed myself to the Master's program while teaching full time, and moderating a student council. It tried and tested me in ways that I hadn’t been tried before. It not only tested me as a student, but tested me as a teacher. There were many times when I was at home doing homework for my courses, while my own students were doing homework for mine. It renewed my appreciation for the hard work my students put in, and even revived my empathy for giving out too much homework! It showed me that I am a lot more capable than I think I am, especially when it comes to wearing many hats in the same day. Ultimately, it showed me how truly dedicated I am to my education as a learner and a future learner.
Through the courses I have taken during my duration in the MAED program, I have not only established the type of educator I want to be, but the type of person I want to be. These courses, among others, have always given the opportunity to grow, change, and shift my ideas. This change and growth was at the apex of my journey, and will continue to be the guide that allows me to become better at what I do. Learning about myself as an educator, understanding what it takes to create the foundations of education, and being culturally aware brought me to the conclusion that education requires a shared vision among many. I join the ranks of many educators who came before me, and the many that will come after, with the idea and vision that education has the opportunity to change lives, and every student deserves an equal opportunity.
The MAED program has provided me with invaluable interactions with thought provoking and inspiring professors, a deeper understanding of myself as both a learner and future learner, and a thirst to continue what Dr. King and so many educators before have started.
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