Professional Thought
I've been thinking a lot about my professional goals during this past week. I'm not sure I ever want to become an administrator because I greatly enjoy working directly with students. If I ever do leave the classroom, I think I'd rather do something in educational programming or perhaps go into counseling. That being said, I think I ought to take some classes in leadership. I am great at classroom management. I can lead a group of children without a problem (well, without anything other than the usual children-are-unpredictable kinds of problems), but adults are much harder, and a bit intimidating. Working in special education, there are often going to be times where I will need to collaborate with other adults and sometimes I may have to take charge of that collaboration. That may even happen in my future classes. I have no doubt that I'm capable of it, but confidence while I'm in action sometimes needs to build - and I don't always have that kind of time.
I think networking is another skill I'd like to learn. I'm so shy that it does not come naturally or easily to me whatsoever. It would probably be super helpful though, especially right now while I'm in school and observing in different environments. I could meet people that could give me good advice and help me get to where I'm going. There are plenty of opportunities for that right now and I should really pay attention to them.
The problem, of course, would be in finding such classes. I'm going to start searching the internet, and maybe asking around with the people I know. Then comes the steps of when and how much. But let's take one problem at a time.
In an article I read today, the author wrote about the importance of being out there on the internet, building networks with other educators, and having your own website and building your own reputation as an educator. I mean, that makes a lot of sense in a way. If I had a website where I put things like my school papers and lesson plans, people could potentially look me up and see what I'm about as an educator. They could see and read my work. Future employers might like it and want to contact me. It would probably be better than a portfolio. Other educators and I could swap information. And if I ever do go into programming, all my stuff is already on my own website for me to draw from - and add to with any media I produce. I would love it if I could help anyone with any of my own stuff just by putting it out there on the internet.
On the other hand, if I had my own site and put things up there, people could see and read my work! The shy side of me balks at that with every fiber of my being. It's hard enough for me to let professors judge and read my work. Plus, how do I protect myself from anyone who might wish to borrow it without attribution? And at the moment, I only have two classes worth of information to share on such a site, and no connections. I couldn't put much up there right now, other than those assignments and maybe a blog. Then again, I currently have multiple journals that I barely find the time to write in as it is. Do I want a blog? Would I ever write in it? And what would I write?
I also know that I need to be more informed about current and future issues and trends in the education systems (especially if I'm going to start writing any sort of blog, not to mention the papers that I'll be writing in the future). I follow many things from a distance, but I should dedicate more time to reading articles and books about issues related to what I'm doing and what kinds of things are happening. I know I could set up my Google to help with this, but I have to figure out how to do that. I haven't adjusted my Google in a long, long time. I also have a To Read list a mile high, along with books that I read for school. I know I need to get cracking on this things... so I will!
So... these are the things I've been considering as far as building my professional life. It's funny: I've thought so long and hard about school and what it's going to take to get me qualified to teach, that I really haven't thought about myself as a professional in a career. That's not something that just happens by itself. That's something you have to shape and create. And it's not that I'm not interested in my profession. I just have always learned as I go along, since I figured I learn best through experience anyway. But it does take longer, and why wait? Go out and greet the world, Nette. Build something.
Well, maybe I will. Nette away.
I think networking is another skill I'd like to learn. I'm so shy that it does not come naturally or easily to me whatsoever. It would probably be super helpful though, especially right now while I'm in school and observing in different environments. I could meet people that could give me good advice and help me get to where I'm going. There are plenty of opportunities for that right now and I should really pay attention to them.
The problem, of course, would be in finding such classes. I'm going to start searching the internet, and maybe asking around with the people I know. Then comes the steps of when and how much. But let's take one problem at a time.
In an article I read today, the author wrote about the importance of being out there on the internet, building networks with other educators, and having your own website and building your own reputation as an educator. I mean, that makes a lot of sense in a way. If I had a website where I put things like my school papers and lesson plans, people could potentially look me up and see what I'm about as an educator. They could see and read my work. Future employers might like it and want to contact me. It would probably be better than a portfolio. Other educators and I could swap information. And if I ever do go into programming, all my stuff is already on my own website for me to draw from - and add to with any media I produce. I would love it if I could help anyone with any of my own stuff just by putting it out there on the internet.
On the other hand, if I had my own site and put things up there, people could see and read my work! The shy side of me balks at that with every fiber of my being. It's hard enough for me to let professors judge and read my work. Plus, how do I protect myself from anyone who might wish to borrow it without attribution? And at the moment, I only have two classes worth of information to share on such a site, and no connections. I couldn't put much up there right now, other than those assignments and maybe a blog. Then again, I currently have multiple journals that I barely find the time to write in as it is. Do I want a blog? Would I ever write in it? And what would I write?
I also know that I need to be more informed about current and future issues and trends in the education systems (especially if I'm going to start writing any sort of blog, not to mention the papers that I'll be writing in the future). I follow many things from a distance, but I should dedicate more time to reading articles and books about issues related to what I'm doing and what kinds of things are happening. I know I could set up my Google to help with this, but I have to figure out how to do that. I haven't adjusted my Google in a long, long time. I also have a To Read list a mile high, along with books that I read for school. I know I need to get cracking on this things... so I will!
So... these are the things I've been considering as far as building my professional life. It's funny: I've thought so long and hard about school and what it's going to take to get me qualified to teach, that I really haven't thought about myself as a professional in a career. That's not something that just happens by itself. That's something you have to shape and create. And it's not that I'm not interested in my profession. I just have always learned as I go along, since I figured I learn best through experience anyway. But it does take longer, and why wait? Go out and greet the world, Nette. Build something.
Well, maybe I will. Nette away.