Elissa J. McClain

As I look back at my professional goal statement, I cannot help but reflect upon where I was during that point of my life.  In September 2011, I had just completed my first year of teaching and was beginning my second.  I had also just gotten married and purchased my first home.  My life was full of firsts, along with new ambitions and goals.  Now I look at my life currently.  I have been happily married for almost three years.  I am going into my fourth year as a classroom teacher and my last year as a probationary teacher.  I have taught three different grade levels and have had a plethora of new experiences.  I have learned and grown so much as both an educator and a student. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Denis Waitley says, "Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now."  I have learned so much from my experience through the MAED program at Michigan State.   All that I have learned has helped me to set daily goals for who I want to be as a teacher.  It has allowed me to see currently who I am as an instructor and has allowed me to shape my daily teaching style as I apply my new knowledge to my career.  Everything I have learned, I will carry with me as I continue to develop my teaching style and perfect my instruction.

 

When I initially began the master's program, my personal and professional goal was to pursue my education in order to further develop my repertoire of teaching methods and strategies.  My career requires me to mentor and support all students, no matter their background, gender, or abilities.  I had the aspiration of receiving my degree in literacy because I wanted to increase the achievement of my students, namely in reading and writing, no matter what challenges they held.   As I have been teaching over the years, I have realized how truly important this goal was and how difficult it could be to accomplish.  Yet, I have developed a repetoire of strategies which has helped me to learn how to deal with the daily challenges of being a teacher.  I feel I have learned so many amazing strategies to help me support the different needs of the students I work with every day.   I truly feel that I have accomplished many of the goals that I originally had set.  Yet, I know that I will constantly create and accomplish many more goals throughout my career.  As a teacher, we are constantly perfecting our craft.  We are life-long learners.  Denis Waitley also said, "All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners... looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they're not learning, they're not growing... not moving toward excellence. " My new goal is to continue to move toward excellence.  Just because my journey in the MAED program is coming to an end, it does not mean I am finished learning.   I will continue to use what I have learned in my past to set more goals as I live in the here and now -- the only moment of time I truly have control over.