Good plans shape good decisions. That’s why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true. ” A good plan helps us to stay on track with our goals, pretzel by what Is the most Important, and to take the appropriate steps to meet our goals and achieve that which we desire. In any field of study, and In life, having a good plan helps us to achieve our goals and to make us more successful in all of our endeavors. I have many goals that I would like to achieve over the next five to ten years in the areas of education, career, and my personal life.
Five years from now we will be entering the year of 2015. Three weeks from now I will be completing my first year at the Ixia College of the university of Phoenix which puts me half way through obtaining my Associate of Arts in Elementary Education. On January 9, 2011 1 will graduate from the Ixia College of the University of Phoenix with my Associate of Arts in Elementary Education. After graduating with my Associate of Arts In Elementary Education I will begin looking for a paraprofessional educator Job In a local elementary school so that I can gain some first hand experience In the classroom.
I would like to have a better feel of what it is like to work in the classroom with elementary aged students before my first year of teaching. Feel that the benefits of working as a paraprofessional educator are important to my success as a teacher. At the end of the year of 2012 1 will begin my twelve weeks of student teaching to equip me even more so in working and instructing within a classroom setting and help me to obtain my teaching certification.
In January of 2013 1 will graduate from the Ixia College of the University of Phoenix with my Bachelor of Science in Education/ Elementary Teacher Education and will begin looking for a permanent teaching position at a local elementary school working as a fifth grade teacher. Ten years from now we will be entering the year of 2020. I want to continue working as a fifth grade teacher through out this time and I want to continue my education while teaching full time.
I would Like to obtain my master and doctor degrees In a shorter erne frame than usual so that I can work on my personal life goals that I will not be able to work on while completing my educational and career goals. I would like to continue retuning my education through the Ixia College of the university of Phoenix to get my Master of Arts in Education/Elementary Teacher Education and my Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration. I would like to have both of these completed within four years which would be in the year of 2017.
I would like to continue teaching the fifth grade for ten years (the year 2023) and then begin looking for a Job as a principle of an elementary school. My final career goal is to eventually work on the school board and then become the district superintendent of schools so hat I can help to Improve our local schools. I would Like to see graduation rates Increased, school safety addressed, and a large Improvement In the standardized testing of students. Also many obstacles that I will need to overcome in order to achieve these goals.
In order to achieve my educational goals I will need to stay on track with my classes, make sure that I meet all of the requirements in order to graduate, and to avoid taking any breaks between classes so that I can graduate within the time frame that I have set for myself. I need to make sure that the participation requirements are met, hat I keep my grades up, that my assignments are turned in on time, to be sure to have the appropriate materials that are required for the class, and to have the materials that help me to stay organized such as a day planner and sticky notes.
I do not see any obstacles in achieving my goals of obtaining my Associate of Arts in Elementary Education degree and my Bachelor of Science in Education/Elementary Teacher Education degree because I am currently a stay at home mom and will continue to be until I graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Education/Elementary Teacher Education degree. However, I can see an obstacle in obtaining my Master of Arts in Education/Elementary Teacher Education degree and my Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration degree.
The first obstacle that I see is having limited time as I hope to be working as a full time teacher while working on getting both the master and doctoral degrees. My time is going to be divided into several ways in order to stay on top of things. Most of my time is going to be spent teaching, grading, and preparing for classes. Another large portion of my time will be invested into my family, house cleaning, and cooking. I will have to make a much more conscience effort to stay focused on my school work especially if I want to graduate in the time frame I have set for myself.
In order to overcome this obstacle I will have to be very organized, have a schedule set for myself and everything that needs to be completed in order of importance, and be aware of the fact that my personal goals and me time will be on hold until my educational goals are completed. The obstacle that I can see in my career goals are that I may not be able to find a local teaching job. I know several people who have been out of school with their teaching degrees or several years and have not been able to find a teaching position here.
In order to overcome this obstacle my family will need to be behind me on this because we may have to move to another city or state in order for me to find a Job. If moving is not a possibility then we are going to have to sacrifice luxuries in order for me to continue staying at home until I find a teaching Job and I may have to find a Job in another field until a teaching position becomes available. Out of the list of principles from the INTACT Principles Web Site the one that I feel that I need to improve upon the most n order to be effective in the educational profession is the planning for instruction.
The areas of study that I need the most help in planning for instruction are math and science as they are my weakest subjects. An existing professional development program that I could pursue to address my need to improve in this area are Math and Technology – Perfect Together 5-8, Making Sense of Numbers and Probability, Connecting Assessment & Instruction: Preparing for the Math Portion on the NJ ASK 7-8, and Math & Science Tool Box, 4-6 which are offered online through the Rutgers University. I can enroll in these programs in order to help to prepare me to meet the diverse needs of today’s learners.
In order to best evaluate my progress towards meeting my goals I need to set a time line which addresses when assignments are completed, turned in, and graded. This will allow me to see visually how I am doing on meeting my goals. Another step in evaluating my progress towards achieving my goals is to stay accountable. In order to do this I need to stay accountable first to myself, knowing that I am doing everything that I can and should be doing in order to meet my goals. I also need to be accountable to someone I see everyday like my significant other.
I need to make him aware of my goals, my time frame, and then stay accountable to him on a regular basis of what I am doing to meet my goals, what I am struggling with in order to achieve the goals and enlist his help and support if need be. I also need to stay accountable to my academic advisor by talking to her about my goals, enlist her help in developing my plan of action, and if I am struggling with meeting my goals I need to go to her and see what else can be done in order for me to get back on track and et my goals in the time frame that I have set.
In order to keep me motivated towards achieving my educational and career goals I will keep in mind that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that all of my hard work will pay off in the long run. I enjoy working with children and I want to help to provide for my family. These two things are enough to keep me motivated towards achieving my goals. Teaching is not just a profession that I choose by picking it out of a hat full of possibilities. It is something that I am passionate about and something that I know that I will not only e good at but that I will enjoy going to work.
I feel that a large part of being successful in one’s field is a love of what you are doing. You may still be good at your job but when you actually like what you do you are not Just good, you are phenomenal at what you do. I would like to Join the professional organization known as ACE’, Association for Childhood Education International. I think that the Association for Childhood Education International would be a good professional organization for me to Join because it will offer me the opportunity to continue to improve myself as a teacher.
It will allow me to connect with other teachers and to support educational issues that I feel strongly about. The Association for Childhood Education International gives information to educators on the most up to date information and practices in the field of education. The Association for Childhood Education International offers several membership options depending on if you are a student, if you are retired, or if you are currently working as a teacher and you receive materials that are compatible with where you are as an educator.
They offer state and local chapters hat you can Join based on your membership so that you can connect more with the teachers in your area and support local causes. Through these opportunities and benefits I will gain continued knowledge in my field and to be an active supporter of causes that I believe in and to be a part of things that I want to see improved or changed in the schools. There are professional leadership skills that I will need to develop.
These waters to find out what people think about your style of leadership and make the appropriate changes, listen to what others have to say, connect by taking accessibility for how you are heard and not Just what you say, be a people’s person by trusting, respecting, and allowing those you work with make decisions, lead by example and not Just in words, share leadership by maximizing individual strengths to get something done, and evaluate your success with your team because it is about being successful as a team and not Just as an individual” (Shania, 2006, Top 7 Business).
The techniques that I will use to develop these skills are to work on my interpersonal skills and to use these skills in my personal relationships so that I can develop them through practice. Anything is possible if you have a plan and stick to it. I believe that I will be successful in my educational and career goals because I have a plan, I know the steps I need to take in order to achieve them, I am aware of the obstacles that I may face in trying to achieve these goals, and I have a plan of attack on how to overcome these obstacles if they should prove to be an issue.
I am very fortunate to have so much support from friends, family, and my academic counselor. The support that I have has played a role in getting me to the point to further my education and set high goals for myself. Now with a plan of action set I am sure that I will be able to better meet my goals and to be a successful teacher. Irreproachableness, D. , & Gene, P. (2005) Introduction to Teaching: Becoming A Professional,second Edition.
