Goal Reflection Essay: Commitment to Excellence in Literacy Education

When I first began my master's program at Michigan State University, I was looking for an opportunity to challenge myself and grow as an educator. In my previous four years as a classroom teacher, I had learned so much from and with my students, but I knew that I needed to continue to invest in my own development if I wanted to excel. What made the online Master of Arts in Education program so perfect was that it allowed me to stay in the classroom and immediately apply what I was learning with my students. I chose Literacy Education as my area of concentration because I saw a need for addressing students’ reading and writing skills. In my own classroom, I had worked with many students whose literacy skills were below grade level, but I realized that I didn’t have sufficient expertise to help them improve. I was eager to find an opportunity to learn more about literacy education at the secondary level so that I could provide instructionally sound interventions for students who were struggling. At the time, I was also seriously contemplating a future administrative position so I decided to add another area of concentration in P-12 School Leadership to my academic plan.

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As I near the end of my graduate program, I continue to be committed to literacy education, but this program has challenged me to think beyond traditional texts. Just before I started the master’s program, the school where I work implemented a 1-to-1 iPad program for all students. I have taken a few courses throughout my master’s that have focused on how new media, particularly the Internet and social media, are changing the way students read, the literacy skills they need to be successful in a 21st-century world, and the best ways to implement technology in education. Over the past three years, I have strived to change the ways I think about and utilize technology in my classroom and have expanded my classroom practice to incorporate more work with non-traditional texts as well as traditional literacy skills. This program has also helped me to realize how much I truly love being in the classroom, therefore I dropped the additional concentration in P-12 School Leadership. While I am dedicated to being a leader in my building, I believe that the classroom is where I will best be able to make the biggest difference for my students.

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This program has helped me to become a more competent and confident educator, and I have learned so much that has improved my ability to support students’ literacy development through scaffolded and meaningful instruction. Specifically, I have developed a more evidenced-based approach to addressing literacy issues in the classroom and have improved my ability to teach students how to build their academic vocabulary as well as read and comprehend a wide variety of traditional and new media texts. Moreover, I sincerely hope that I have become a better colleague to my peers by helping to build a culture in our school that reinforces the belief that literacy skills aren’t just taught in English class but rather are the responsibility of every educator in all content areas.