CI 5321 Post 1: Initial Thoughts

Hello all! This is a blog page I started at the beginning of my ILP/ M.Ed. program, but I figured it would work for the six posts I have to make for my distance education class. To kind of mirror our Module 1 for this class, this first post will be mostly an introduction about me, some of my beliefs in teaching in general and how distance education plays into that, and what I think about this class so far.

First of all, (as you may already know) I just turned in my application for my Minnesota teaching license (Communication Arts and Literature 5-12) yesterday and I will complete my final master’s class this August. I am pretty excited to finally finish up with the bulk of my schooling – I say it this way because I can’t imagine that I am done with classes for the entirety of my life – and to finally move into what I consider actual adulthood. Not that I’m not an adult now, but it’s hard to think of myself as being on an equal playing field when I haven’t even begun my career yet.

As I have been preparing for my license application and general career-related future a lot over the past year, I’ve come to a few central beliefs when it comes to teaching. Broadly, I believe in placing a lot of focus on building a classroom community, centering the individuals in my classes in everything we do, and creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, with specific emphasis on cultural responsiveness. In addition, I think a growth mind-set is extremely important to have, as no student is an empty vessel, nor is anyone as developed as they possibly can be.

All of these beliefs would bleed into any distance educational situation I’d be in. No matter what, I would get to know my students and include their interests in our class, try to get my students to see each other as a team, and provide culturally relevant materials, on top of other things. It doesn’t matter if we are in the same room or miles upon miles away; my core beliefs remain the same.

At first, I was a little nervous about this class, as I am also taking another May Term class and teaching full-time at the same time. However, after this first module, I think it will be doable. I am already exhausted and stretched for time, but the fact that these classes are only three weeks long give me confidence that I will be able to hang on through the duration of them.