Time Well Spent

Throughout my time at Walden, I feel I have learned a lot about myself and my journey as an educator. To begin, I have learned that I have a great community of support which helped me to become more confident in my ability to complete this program but also to help me grow as an educator. I have found that I have established relationships with my colleagues throughout this program and the benefits of these relationships will be endless. I have learned that establishing collaborative relationships is crucial to my success, but also the success of my students.

This program has opened my eyes to anti-bias education. I have become more aware of times where I may have been biased towards others based on my beliefs and understandings of others. While I have learned so much about anti-bias education, I believe my biggest take away is that families and children should feel comfortable and celebrated in the classroom regardless of their diversity.  Educators need to be inclusive of all children and their families, while also being aware of their own personal privileges and bias. I have become more open-minded and have already adapted my classroom to be more inclusive.

Finally, I have learned the importance of my role as an educator and how I am an advocate for young learners. I have gained a deeper understanding of how an educator has the ability to make a difference in a child’s life. Not only can I impact young learners in the classroom, I can also impact my state and country. At the end of the program, putting together a Capstone project helped me to learn that I am capable of implementing new ideas and I do have the ability to be a leader in the education field.  

Throughout this program, I have established a long-term goal for myself as a professional in the education field. I hope to continue to be an advocate for young learners by pushing for a more developmentally appropriate curriculum for early childhood education. I hope to begin with implementing more opportunities for play within the curriculum for young learners in elementary school.

Thank you, Dr. Embree, for your support throughout this course. The constant and consistent support allowed me to work to my full potential while also pushing me to challenge myself as a learner. Thank you to my colleagues who have completed this journey with me. I have enjoyed interacting with each of you every week, sharing ideas, and discussing different viewpoints. I have valued the time and opportunities I have had in order to learn from each and every one of you; thank you for helping me to become a better educator and a stronger professional in the education field. I wish you all the best in the future and your journey to accomplish your goals and I hope each of you continues to be advocates for young learners and remember that you do make a difference in each child’s life you touch!