What's your why?

The reason I have gone into education is because I am passionate about educating students, specifically black and brown students who come from areas that are forgotten or not held to the same expectation as other areas. My parents grew up in areas where there was no push and with parents who knew education was important but making ends meet were more important. My parents refused to be statistics and were the first college graduates on both sides. It is more than a job, its a movement. I have the unique role in changing lives, growing brains and reducing statistics. I am particularly interested in technology because I feel as though it is a tool of advancement but I often see that technology is at a reduced availability in areas that I service. It is important to me to close the gap between quality education, technology availability and racial disparities. 

            I plan to incorporate COVA and CSLE into many aspects of this ePortfolio. I plan to utilize this ePortfolio as a resource and tool for teachers who plan to integrate technology into their lessons. I will develop webinars, professional developments and courses to help teachers learn the intricacies of technology implementation. Teachers will have the choice to create courses or tasks that will provide them and students with ownership of the authentic work and voice that is a direct result of the learning provided by the webinars and professional developments which will lend itself to creating significant learning environments. My ePortfolio will also be used as a contact method for parents, schools and districts for training purposes. The most valuable thing I've learned in this course is to let go of the idea that I have to continue to develop a growth mindset when it comes to my perceived failures. I also have to stop allowing comparison to steal my joy. It's so easy to compare yourself to a classmate or other educator and in the very moment you compare, you lose the uniqueness that you possess.

       Throughout this course, I have learned how important have a growth mindset and believing in the power of yet. It has allowed me to engage in Heutagogy and keep a positive outlook and learn from failures. I was able to receive feed forward and use it to improve my skillset. I have also learned that failures aren't the end of the world and have used them to help shape the development of my learning manifesto. I haven't had the autonomy before this course and as much as I wanted it, I wasn't ready for it. It scared me, but I have learned that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. I've also been invited to join Professional Learning Networks that have provided a wealth of knowledge. I've been able to grow from the many webinars that have been offered and connections that have been developed.

Reference

Sinek, S. (2017, October 22). Start with why-How great leaders inspire action. YouTube. https://youtu.be/u4ZoJKF_VuA