Synthesis Essay | |
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I want to start by saying I have loved every version of myself, and I mean no disrespect to Jessica #1. That being said, Jessica #1 had a lot of unearned confidence. Look at that confident pose, showing off the Honor's College sweatshirt. This picture fully embodies how I entered this program. I was fresh out of college and was required to take graduate level courses during my internship year. I took four courses that I actually really enjoyed because it was finally able to connect what I was learning in the classroom to actual teaching with real kids. What went a little wrong for me here was that I was in a kindergarten/first grade split, and I focused a lot of my learning in lower elementary and didn't focus too much in higher grades that I would later realize I really belong in.
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Flash forward two years and I have changed dramatically. I spent my first two years teaching in a sixth grade classroom with many different kinds of students. I had 5 students with IEPs my first year and 3 my second year. I loved it. I started to recognize the holes that I had in my education and decided Michigan State's Special Education program was the way that I would fill those holes. My first course that I enrolled in for the program was CEP 840 "Policies, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education" with Dr. Emily Bouck. This course changed everything for me. I learned about IDEA and Section 504. I learned about a plethora of disabilities that a student could have, and what kinds of support that I could provide to be a better teacher for ALL my students. The class was small and was about half and half general educators and special educators. I learned how to work with a special educator to help a shared student. I worked with Emily Kuiper on my first IEP that I would ever write. I became fascinated with the law behind special education and annoyed all my
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At the end of my second semester into the Special Education program, I made a big decision. I decided that I didn't know what I wanted, and that was fine. I changed paths to the Education program with a focus in Special Education. I decided to become a teacher at 17 years old. I was so sure that this was the path for me. At 26 years old, I realize that any decision I make right now will apply to "right now Jessica" and maybe not "in ten years Jessica". The only goal I have is to learn, to grow, and to do what makes me happy and the world better. All of the things I have done in this program have achieved that. I have learned so much, I'm a better teacher, and I've helped a lot of kids. I've gotten married, and we are starting a family. My path has shifted and I see myself raising kids for the foreseeable future. A lot of people have asked me if I regret getting my master's because I'm "not going to use it". The problem is, that isn't true. You don't have to be in the classroom to be an educator.
Jessica #3 is just enjoying learning. I am currently taking two courses. The first is "Concepts of Educational Inquiry" with Dr. Steven Weiland and Nathan Clason. This course, to me, is just fun. It goes into what the |