Rachel K. Reflection

This was the first week of my year-long Master in Teaching Program at Seattle University. I started the morning off by walking to my new bus stop with my roommate. He wished me luck and I boarded the No. 12 bus up to First Hill. The journey is harrowing! The bus goes straight up the hilliest of Seattle hills for about a mile before reaching flat road again. It makes me wonder just how safe the breaks on the buses are. One faulty move and the bus goes careening down Madison st., killing all in its path! Dramatically shattering through the Seattle Public Library and ending its fateful journey in the young adult section. And then I would be late to class.

We were told to sit with new people every day, which we did after arriving in the large classroom before 9am each morning. It was a great way to meet a lot of people, and I didn't find that I was settling into a group of friends during the week, which was conducive to meeting MORE people.

The class for the first three weeks is called "The Teacher as a Reflective Decision Maker," due to its name, we are all pushed to do a lot of introspective thinking in terms of our beliefs and personal goals as prospective teachers. The cohort (fifty four of us) spent its time making creative group projects, independent thought projects in silence, short movies advocating for technology in the classroom, and a LOT of group discussions. We talked about anything and everything and I felt exhausted after each seven hour day of voicing my beliefs, honing my collaborative skills and reflecting on the days events.

Every evening I was expected to write short reflection papers about how I felt about what we were learning and how it was helping me to become a better teacher. These were difficult because of the broad topics given, but after a few of them I was feeling confident about my short paper-writing skills. Reflectivity is coming easier to me now, too. It isn't often that I've been asked to think introspectively about what I've read or discussed in a group.

At the end of the week I went out with the cohort to the garage, a local and enormous bar located next to Seattle University. It was awkward at first, but after half a glass of wine, it was a great pleasure to get to know so many of the people I had spoken with during the week in a casual setting. I rode the bus back downtown with Renee, a prospective high school history teacher with a penchant for Seattle trivia and Amber, a prospective elementary school teacher who will be accompanying me at Koi Elementary School (name changed to protect the Innocent) next week for observation. We had some chips at Chipotle and then I called it a night and went home to celebrate my weekend and a week of class well done.

I'm feeling very affirmed in my decision to attend Seattle U over UW. I think that introspective and reflective learning is going to do me a world of good in the field of education. Also, I made a lot of art projects during the week! I had forgotten how fun it is to color with markers! Examples live below:

Eerily drawn as a visual representation of learning disabilities the day before the tsunami hit NE Japan

A visual integration project as a reflection of what I learned throughout the week.

On a non class-related note, I have been glued to the news about the tsunami and earthquake disaster that hit Japan last Friday. It is difficult on a personal level to be so far away from Japan during a time like this, but it is a great comfort that so many of my family, friends and coworkers are able to give donations and support to those who need it at this time.