EDUC 6715 Week 8 Reflection

FINAL REFLECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this really it? Can it be so? Have I finally completed my master's degree? Wait a minute. Before I go on and celebrate, I believe I still have some work left to do and my portfolio has yet to be graded. I am just very thankful to have finished the majority of my program at Walden and excuse me if I have come off a little over the top with enthusiasm.

My completed assignment from weeks 6 & 7 reflect what has been learned because I have been able to apply it into a plan of action. Like the third change agent, I have been able to apply this class to a real world scenario. I was asked to write a brief grant proposal and that is something that I definitely needed help with. It is also something that needs to be done in my district. Funding is not readily accessible and while my district will not adequately provide me with the technological tools needed to make my classroom fit for a 21st century learning environment, there are other means of funding. I have learned with this assignment not to give up and to continue fighting for what is right. I have been guilty of resorting to traditional methods of teaching because that is what the people before me and around me have always done. It is also much easier to use the resources that are available as opposed to completely redesigning our district's curriculum, especially when there is no funding available.

I have learned that this is the big picture. Eventually, before I retire, I hope to enact a change in my school district that will have a lasting impact. I have also learned that this change can only begin in my classroom with me as the leader. Rome wasn't built in a day. Was that the adage I was looking for? I seem to remember it vividly, but I am a little burnt out from all of this extended thinking. I think that my last, ending master's assignment will also mark the beginning for me. I will make honest efforts towards writing grants regularly. Eventually, my voice will be heard and changes will begin to be made. If I can positively integrate new and emerging technologies in my classroom, people will talk and I will generate a buzz. Word of mouth will spread about the great, 21st century lessons that will be taught in my classroom. Administrators will begin to seek out answers as to why my students are so fully engaged in learning that is relevant to the 21st century that eventually they will follow my lead. I am so thankful to have taken my master's through Walden. I am especially thankful to have had such great professors like Dr. Bordelon that have been so patient and understanding.

The only negative to all of this is that I will have to begin monthly payments on the student loans that I took out:(

(hopefully my students will find that it was worth it in the long run:)

Signing off one last time....
Kevin