ZOE GORSKI
Future Learning Goals
One of the most valuable lessons I will take away from my master’s program is how important it is for educators to self-reflect. In exploring self-reflection, I have learned about the ways habits are formed and changed, how novices turn into masters, and how motivation both promotes and inhibits learners from reaching their goals. In everything I do, whatever it may be, I plan to intentionally and regularly reflect on my progress and monitor what may be helping or hindering the pursuit of my goals. This essay will outline my plan to pursue my three personal and professional goals going forward, in order of immediacy. I will first begin my intentional reflection practice through daily writing in a personal journal and weekly writing in a public blog. The next goal I will pursue is getting back into the classroom as a teacher. I have learned so much from my time away, but it is time to get back to teaching students and apply my new knowledge. My long-term goal is to become a leader in helping other educators and individuals understand the writing process. I will help other educators learn the best practices in teaching writing, and I will help individuals improve their writing through personal coaching and consulting.
WRITE
TEACH
LEAD
WRITE
As a language arts teacher and writing consultant, I spend a lot of time helping other people develop their writing skills. As a student, I have had a multitude of opportunities to work on my own academic writing, but I would like to be able to “practice what I preach” and intentionally take time to write creatively. In a course where I learned about the power of habits and rewards, I started a daily practice of writing in my journal. I take a few minutes while my daughter naps and write about whatever is on my mind at the time. It’s a practice that took some time to do routinely, but it is now a staple in my daily schedule and helps me practice self-reflection in my daily roles. I would now like to take the practice further, and achieve a goal that I have dreamt of since I was a child, and start publishing some of my stories. I have purchased a domain name and am creating my own personal website where I will post my stories in the format of a blog. I will be learning more about WordPress in order to self-host my website. I will later use this platform to achieve another one of my goals: to help others learn more about the writing process and find their voice through telling stories. In the meantime, I will use this blog to develop a portfolio of my work and offer writing and teaching advice, as well as tell narratives of my daily experiences with life as a mother, wife, and teacher.
TEACH
In my hiatus from teaching I have obtained a master’s degree in Literacy Education and K-12 and Postsecondary Leadership. I have studied the best practices in literacy instruction such as selecting authentic, representative texts, and practicing culturally responsive teaching. Through my courses in leadership, I have learned about different leadership styles and have identified myself as an adaptive leader with a progressive teaching philosophy, and a developmental and nurturing teaching perspective. I will use my research on best teaching and leading methods to improve my instructional practice and return to the classroom for many years to come. I love teaching middle school students because they are creative and still very impressionable. Teaching in middle childhood education is a great responsibility because adolescents have emotional and intellectual needs to nurture, and I plan to stay current in the field with regular reading about the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). I also enjoy working with adults as peers and team members because I have so much to learn from the experiences of others and sometimes I can give my own knowledge back to them. I love to collaborate with other teachers for our students, and I am ready and excited to rejoin a school setting.
LEAD
When the opportunity arises, I will become a leader in teaching others about the writing process. I have already created workshops about the importance of writing conferences and have personal experience as a writing consultant and writing teacher. I will continue to study best practices and stay current in my research by reading articles and collaborating with other teachers. Through my personal writing website and future educational institutions, I hope to become a leader in writing instruction for fellow educators and other individuals who seek help to improve their teaching and writing practice.