Leah Segrin's Professional Portfolio

​Every Experience is a Learning Opportunity
By Leah Segrin
February 2013



 

          Last Spring after a softball game, I got in conversation with a father of a high school junior I was coaching. Knowing I was working on my Masters degree in Education, he asked me if a Doctorate was next. I remember laughing and replying, “Well I don’t know about that!!…” I was teaching Preschool full- time, coaching a championship softball team in the afternoons, and was enrolled in two Master’s courses. Not to mention dealing with outrageous D.C. traffic between it all. Working on a Doctorate was the last thing on my mind. But since that conversation a year ago, I have reconsidered. I have grown truly interested in the human mind and cultural phenomena. I have a feeling I may pursue formal education in psychology, anthropology, or ethnography in the future.
          Of course I am unsure of what lies ahead for me, but now after completing a Masters degree, I feel more comfortable and prepared to embrace all the beauty and challenges that the future will bring. My education at Michigan State University has opened my eyes to the great world of learning possibilities, a world where learning is infinite. Although I do see myself pursuing more formal education in the future, I have come to realize that I do not need to be in a classroom to be learning.
          I love to travel and hope to move abroad someday. I know wherever I go I will always be gaining knowledge from my experiences in different places and with diverse people. Observation and self-reflection are part of my everyday life now. My passion for traveling will bring new and different learning opportunities as I encounter a variety of races, cultures, and religions all in different geographical locations and with a range of socioeconomic statuses. I look forward to learning from difference and celebrating it!
          Come May when my Masters degree is complete, I will have time for even more reading! I have accumulated a bounty of books that will help me develop as an educator, including books about writing genres, early childhood development guidelines, and physical development, for example. I have a habit of buying interesting looking books from thrift stores, antique shops… from all over. Well those treasures I pick up are future learning experiences patiently waiting on the shelf for their chance to be ingested.  Also, in my spare time I enjoy watching documentaries on universal life topics such as sustainable living, healthy eating, and spirituality. Both of these activities will be part of my lifetime of continued informal learning. There is so much I want to learn about. So much I want to see, feel, hear, smell, and taste- I don’t know if my inquiring mind will ever feel satisfied.
          I am grateful for the advancement in technology, which has provided us with incredible options for retrieving and sharing information. The web has connected us in unbelievable ways. An online Master’s degree is a great testimony for this. Throughout the MAED program I had practice using a variety of technological tools and engaged in discussions with teachers working in places such as Korea, Germany, Columbia, and numerous states of America. I’ve grown more comfortable with web publishing, video production, presentation software, webquests, blogs, screen casts, podcasts and social networking arenas. I plan to find ways to bring this technology into the classroom setting as well as help peer teachers who do not know or who are resistant to learning new tools. It is important for teachers to be aware and up-to-date on technology as it changes. Technology is no longer just something in the future. It is here now and all around us.
          Research and studies on pretty much anything you can imagine is just at our fingertips. And now from my experiences in this online program, I have a better understanding for ways to access that information. I plan to continue my learning by researching effective teaching practices which others from around the world use in their classrooms. I have gathered great references from other teachers in programs such as MACUL and Classroom 2.0, which I will use for my future improvement as an educator.
          Now I must admit, along this journey I found myself frustrated at times. Even wishing I didn’t have a deadline to meet or discussions to follow up on. And in attempts to comfort me, my friends and family members had said, “well you're almost done” and “you’ll be glad when it’s done”. Well the truth is I am proud I have earned a Master’s degree and I imagine I will feel relief when I finally receive my diploma. However, I do not feel like my work is “done”. Teaching is an ongoing process of learning. I must implement what I learned in days to come, and then learn more. New technologies will be invented that will replace the tools we use now. If I want to stay relevant and effective, I must too, be a student. I will be a student along with my students, learning from them, and adjusting my teaching to best suite their individual needs. Forever a learner I will be.