Wrapping+It+Up

=Wrapping It Up....... =

Wow. What a rollercoaster ride these past few years. It feels like yesterday that I just started my Masters, yet it feels like I've been at it forever. In that time my kids have turned into piano-playing, school-aged, hockey players, I had a year-and-a-half stint as a vice-principal, and we've picked up our household and moved 6 hours south to Esterhazy. It is now time to breath.

It has been a great opportunity to look back and reflect on my journey. I have gained experience and wisdom over the years, and have appreciated the opportunity to grow as a teacher. Life gets so busy that I don't take enough time to sit and reflect on my life, my decisions, and the paths I've taken. As great as this process has been for me, I really wish I had known at the beginning of my journey about the need for the reflection at the end. I believe that I would have gained more out of it had I been reflecting all along the way - it was a lot to take in all at once.

I have completely changed as a student compared to my undergraduate years. Looking back, I wasn't at the right maturity level to take my classes seriously, and I had a lot going on personally (death of my father). I see now how motivated I am when I am passionate about something, I wonder what I will do next. The thought has recently crossed my mind to write the LSAT. Not that I would go into law at this point in my life, but just to prove to myself that I could. Where was this drive 15 years ago??? My goal is to motivate my students to care this much about what they do - not to just be motivated by a number on a piece of paper. I think that will be enough work to fill my lifetime :)

After finally finishing my Masters in Educational Administration, I am still asking myself, "Do I even want to be an administrator?" It needs to be the perfect storm of a position - I want to work under a dynamic principal who I can soak in a wealth of knowledge from, and one who I share similar philosophies with. Do I want to walk into a school that needs huge amounts of change? I know it is hard to hide from change, and after having experienced a bit of time in administration, and completely more courses, I think I am much better prepared and not as naive. I still have a passion to work in teacher education, and would LOVE to end my career working with young, developing teachers. I'm just not sure I have it in me to continue in the PhD route, which seems to be a necessary route to be a professor. That, and living in a community that makes that work feasible. Either way, I am ready to be in my classroom for awhile, and I'm excited to work at being a "Master" teacher.