THE FIRST STEP
Goal Reflection Essay
I Can Do More, I Must Do More
​My teaching career began at a school that, for many of its students, was the last resort before being placed in a residential facility, group home or in some cases, jail. It was designed to be a safe haven for students who had fallen through the cracks in our educational system due to undiagnosed mental illness, learning disabilities, and a lack of support at home. Students were sent to us because they were viewed as unmanageable, hopeless cases in their home districts and they knew it. School had become weaponized and this caused many of them to distrust teachers and lose their passion for learning. It was during my time here that I learned the most valuable lesson of my professional career— I can do more to help students find a voice and repair their love of learning, and I must do more.
After spending eight years in the classroom as a special education teacher, I felt that I had made a lot of headway in helping my students feel loved, respected, and cherished members of my classroom community. I knew that this was an important first step, but that I could do more. I decided that seeking a Master of Arts in Education (MAED) with a concentration in special education would be an important first step in that process.
Setting Goals
I believe that being a lifelong learner and a leader means leading through action. That is why I began my graduate program with three goals in mind:
Goal 1:
To expand my knowledge of and incorporate more technology in the classroom.
Goal 2:
To learn strategies that will help me cultivate meaningful relationships with my students and caregivers, as well as with their school teams.
Goal 3:
To learn integrative teaching strategies that would assist me in developing proactive programming and interventions aimed at reducing factors that place children and youth at-risk.
Staying the Course
Although my career path has changed since I began my path toward earning a MAED, my goals have remained the same. Currently, I work at a children’s hospital in a role that was developed to address gaps in education that children with chronic medical conditions like cancer and blood disorders face both educationally and socially/emotionally. One of my primary responsibilities is to foster relationships between patients/families and schools so that the patients can maintain their educational goals and remain active members of their school communities throughout their course of treatment. This is a major reason why the goals I set out to accomplish when I started my MAED are now more relevant to me than ever.
It is increasingly apparent to me that students with chronic illness are among the ones who suffer the most and feel disconnected with school. They need improved technology solutions, improved relationships with their school teams, and more proactive programming aimed at improving their engagement with school. Now, more than any other time, the knowledge that I can do more and that I must do more is apparent. This is what drives my graduate coursework and my professional passion.