Season 7: My Year of Firsts

The end of this school year I celebrate 25 years in education! Even after all these years, this year still brought me new, exciting, and challenging experiences. I was able to:

• Complete my first year of PhD studies in Math and Science Education
• Teach my first college education courses
• Present my emerging research topic to educators

My background and experience in 25 years certainly helped me this year, but I also was reminded of some important lessons as a new PhD student that helped me achieve these firsts with not a lot of tears.

• Make time for yourself. I learned that being a graduate study is all about reading, writing, and thinking—reading lots of articles/books, writing about said articles, and thinking about what you read and write in your classes. One of my professors suggested to our class that we should spend at least 30 minutes each day writing about your experiences to spend time with yourself. This practice has helped me process my learning and to take time each day for myself.
• Build your community. Getting a PhD is a team effort literally. You work with a committee of professors to support you with proposing and writing your dissertation. Before I have to assemble my final team, it is important to get to know members of your cohort and students from different programs to create a support network to talk about your research and get you through the highs and lows. Your community will be crucial when you’re trying to finish midterms/finals in the wee hours of the morning and to celebrate your successes.
• Be open. One of the questions I have been asked over and over again since I started this journey is “What are you going to do with your PhD?” For the first time in 25 years, I don’t have a ready-made answer. I decided to be open to the opportunities and experiences during my PhD journey to answer that question.
• Do what you love! One of my writing teachers told me that during my undergrad years. I 100% agree with him. I spent the last five years in a different area of education and when I started teaching again this semester I knew immediately that I had missed teaching and supporting students. I taught my first two undergraduate classes this semester—student teaching and math methods. I had the biggest grin on my face after my first week of classes. I had missed talking about instructional practices and mathematical strategies and was so excited to hear what my students were learning and thinking.

I am grateful for all of my experiences as an educator for the last 25 years. I have learned, taught, coached, mentored, and even led during that time. I am looking forward to continuing all of these lessons as I get ready for next school year.

What’s a new lesson you learned this year?