Until We Meet Again....
The Journey Past
As I reflect back to the beginning of my Masters program, I want to add that my learning journey went far beyond this measure of starting my Masters in 2021.My educational journey really started back in 2003 when I realized that I was not financially independent. I had two very small children and going through a nasty divorce I was going to have a difficult time being able to support myself and my two children. Running a health club for15 years was not going to solely pay the bills being on my own. This was not enough to move forward for myself and my children. So, I decided to take baby steps and get back into school. So, this is where my journey began. I have never pushed myself this far and as I progressed through the process I gained insight that I could accomplish anything I wanted provided I dedicated myself to hard work and dedication It shaped the way I wanted to continue to strive, and now learn in more specialized areas of education.
In 2003, I started at Mohawk College, where I completed my two year diploma in Early Childhood Education. After completing my diploma, I wanted to go further in the educational field but I did not have a university degree, I decided to move forward and completed my four year degree in Bachelor Arts at McMaster University in 2009. That September I started teachers college at Charles Sturt University (Australian) in Burlington ON as an adult educator. Excelling in all of my academics, I was nominated Valedictorian and was chosen to complete my final practicum in Australia, where I spent six weeks teaching in Wellington (border of the outback). This experience also shaped the type of person I was, and the person I still wanted to be. This experience opened many doors and pathways that led to new destinations. The skills, inclusive practice and knowledge I acquired during this time was a rewarding one. I began to put all the required knowledge I had accumulated into practice in a classroom.
The year I was at teachers college was a very difficult and challenging time for me and my family. My parents were living with me at the time helping me raise my children as I was completing this educational chapter of my life. I was working three jobs at the time and often came home from the restaurant to find my children already tucked in and asleep. It was very difficult to come home to your young children often not even having the chance to see them awake long enough for a hug. I struggled with this and I went through a period of wondering whether all of these late nights, working all these jobs, being at school full-time was really worth it. How much is it worth to miss "time" with my children? I wondered how much would they ever know and respect the years I dedicated to bettering myself through education. Would they realize I did this for myself and for them?
During that same year at teachers college, my dad was diagnosed with stage 3B colon cancer. He had to have extensive chemo and radiation therapy over the next 8 months. The constant unknown of the health of my dad weighed heavily on me and my family. My mom worked full time. There was a minimal amount of days I could take off school so we relied on personal friends and family to support us during this time. I can say, that year allowed all of us to persevere through the toughest time of our lives. It gave me the motivation and drive to complete my Bachelor of Education. Through this brutal year at teachers college and my dads cancer I came to realize that if we did not have the love and support of our family, I fear we all would not have been successful in getting through this year! I am happy to report that my dad conquered cancer at the age of 65 and he just celebrated his 82 birthday.
As I completed my Master of Education, I started my career at Halton District school board. It was important to me to continue my professional development as I wanted to reach the top of my pay grid. I started working on my Specialist in Special Education at York University. Afterwards, I went on to completing my FSL (French as a second Language). Finally, I completed my specialist in Information Technology through my ETFO union.
I am not looking for a "wow" or a "look at you"! Writing this down on paper for the first time allows me a moment to be proud of myself and my accomplishments since 2003.
Learning Goals Aligned
My goals have not changed necessarily, but have instead strengthened my desire to pursue further studies, potentially including a PhD, and to continue my professional development. I will always take courses in education. As I already have a specialist in Information Technology, my passion remains getting acquainted with new educational trends new technological digital environments.
My experiences thorough work and collaboration in almost 4 years has enabled me to make life ling friends, It has given me the opportunity to build my confidence and self esteem when working with critically analyzing others work. It also allowed me to gain encouragement to take constructive feedback.
I think the biggest take away is the growth mindset piece and it is important that I teach this in my classroom. It is important that I provide an atmosphere where students can take risks and make mistakes. I made many mistakes in my journey to complete my ePortfolio course but upon reflection, this course allowed me to realize I have to continue to practice what I am preaching to my students. Daily, we teach Growth Mindset (especially in math) where we reflect on our learning, celebrate our successes and document our mistakes to build confidence.
This journey has also taught me to learn to deal with mistakes positively. Live by example and teach by example. Show that mistakes lead to growth and we can use that growth to tackle problems. In today's world, we live in a very "immediate" society. I had to force myself to be given time to explore, investigate or hypothesize for an answer without reaching for technology for an immediate answer. I teach my students that it is "OK" to make mistakes and it is crucial to "struggle" at times. I also had to learn that making mistakes and struggling at times made me stringer, made me persevere in the toughest times and made me realize I too step must practice what I preach.
The Growth Mindset poster I provided above is the exact poster I have in my classroom. It is an important part of the beginning of the year where we establish routines and students learn that improving a growth mindset can lead to increased resilience increased risk-taking motivation to do so, and achievement in various areas of life. For me? It was a valuable lesson as it strengthened my coping strategies for dealing with some major setbacks. It also enhanced my ability to bounce back, never give up and continue working towards a successful completion of this course.
Moving Forward & Future Aspirations
If it was not for my extremely supportive husband, I would not be where I am today. My dream is to move forward as a Professor in a virtual position in a post secondary institution. Traveling with my husband is important as we want to continue to got o our favourite places with our family and friends (i.e., Sedona, Caymans, Costa Rica). We can do these things if I continue to strive working hard, continuing on my professional development. Providing I have good reliable internet we could travel anywhere. A lot of these decisions for our future is because I lost a very dear friend of mine last year, just shy of her 50th birthday. She had been battling cancer for the past five years. She left behind her 12 year-old daughter and 18 year old son. As I move forward with my husband (who just recently retired, Freedom 55) I want to embark on some new and incredible experiences with my family and friends. Losing someone so young and close to you after the battle she lost makes you reflect on what are my "important things" in my life? Keri was a warrior and a her zest to survive and conquer was an inspiration. She gives me the motivation to always pay attention to those who love and support you. So that answer is easy. It revolves around continuing to make beautiful memories with our family and friends.
In an educational context, starting in September, I am beginning a new role in school as a full time SERT (Special Education Resource teacher). I will re-focus my learning objectives and begin to branch out to support my colleagues in special education. My goal is to make sure I am staying current with best practices in special education through professional development and continuous training. It will allow me to collaborate with my team to learn new tools and share existing strategies to enhance support for students with special needs. A need to advocate for the needs and rights of all students for me ensures they will have access to the resources and support in order to succeed within the classroom and the school community.
What I learned about EPortfolio project
This ePortfolio project allowed me to showcase my skills as an individual. I was able to mark my achievements, and learning over the past 3 1/2 year into 1 clear snapshot. I was able to critically reflect and assess on each course experiences each time being able to identify my strengths and weaknesses (which I had many). It showed where I had grown as an educator, how I have changed in my professional practice becoming more aware of my leadership abilities and inclusive practices with my colleagues and my students. I provided a platform where I could showcase my assignments, work samples, such as visual pleasing presentations, collaborative projects with other group members. As my portfolio is a fluid document, I will be able to continue to build and maintain my professional showcasing my journey over the course of time,
A huge thank you to Urvi. She was very supportive in her feedback. She continued to inspire me by reading her work. She always prided me with positive language and we often chatted about how we were both doing in the course and in life in general. Thank you to Dr. Marlow for challenging me to continue to foster support during my reflective practice and “learning journey”. I was given this word "Pause" from a trainer at my gym. She is such an inspirational person to me, who has tackled and battled through sobriety. At the end of each class, she gives us a "word". This time she said the purpose of this word could mean many things to many people. To me at this time, it is pausing for reflection to thank those who were patient and supportive through these past 3 1/2 years. It is because of my colleagues and professors who have shown me empathy, and kindness through each and every course supported me through this process. So I "PAUSE" here now... and say "Thank you".
In Gratitude,
Laura Donnelly