THIS I BELIEVE
A Synthesis
Recently I’ve had students ask me about my own schooling, career choices, and more specifically, why I became a teacher. Even though I felt I did a very thorough introduction in my new position at the beginning of the year, they still have questions. No problem, let's talk about that. During these first two months of my new position as a Senior and Freshman English Teacher, district initiatives have our students focused heavily on college and career readiness. My Seniors are building their own digital, career and pre-college portfolios, much like the one I have built here. My Freshmen have had their PSAT scores from 8th grade recently returned and have completed some career exploration activities through Xello, a college and career readiness platform used by our district. Shortly thereafter one particular ninth grade student inquired, “Mr. Seymour, you know how we have been looking at careers lately, what did you want to do when you were a kid?”. I like to remind students how fortunate they are to have a school that helps set them up for success, illustrating for them that these programs didn’t exist when I graduated from high school. And so, that answer is always difficult to articulate. What did I want to be? I wasn’t a particularly talented student in high school. I explained to my students as thoughtfully as I could that I just loved school, even though I wasn’t that great at it when I was their age. I just loved being at school. This, I believe, is how I came to be a teacher.
I told my Freshmen during that class period of how small things in my life shaped me in much larger ways, how decisions we make today can impact who we are tomorrow. When I speak with my Senior students I get a bit more pushback on my “inspirational speeches” which I have for the most part stopped making. Some students have a fair idea of what they want to do and what they want to accomplish in their lifetimes, but the vast majority don’t. Neither did I. And so, is it fair of me to impart my own flawed wisdom upon them? Probably not. But I still empathize, listen, and do my best to understand their situations, celebrate their talents, and aid in their limitations. It’s made me a better teacher, and my new perspective is owed in part to my experiences in this Master of Education program at Michigan State University.
In one of the first courses I took, ED 800 Educational Inquiry, we ended the semester with a final reflection on our own educational experiences. This final paper opened my perspectives on the concept of lifelong learning and how the ways in which we approach both teaching and learning necessarily change over the course of our lives. We are constantly learning. I wasn’t prepared to take on a teacher education program right out of high school. I wouldn’t have qualified at the time. It would be years later that I would return to college much more prepared and willing to take on such a great responsibility. That made all the difference. I made a modest living in the building trades for years, but knew I would eventually want more from life. I wanted to have a greater impact on the world. And so, I considered what I truly valued in my life and I always came back to, school. ED 800 allowed me to more thoughtfully consider what school and formal education really are. The theories and practices explored throughout the class reshaped what I initially learned in my bachelor program at U of M-Flint almost a decade earlier, even the direct teacher training I did at the elementary level was reconfigured in my mind, transformed from a teaching experience into a learning one. It took those experienced to realize that secondary education was a better fit for my teaching and learning styles. That first course at MSU helped put my own educational path into a new perspective. It quelled the doubts I’ve had about my own journey, that of what some referred to as a non-traditional college student. There is no limit on learning, age or otherwise.
I entered into this program to become a better teacher, to expand my expertise in the field of education, but also, if I am being completely honest, I wanted to enhance my credentials. According to U.S. News & World Report , the Online MAED program is ranked as one of the best in the country. Michigan State University is ranked #116 globally, but also ranked #2 globally for Best Universities for Education and Educational Research. It means something to me to be a part of this university; to graduate from MSU as a Spartan has been a long sought after goal. The flexibility and accessibility of this completely online program is the only way I was able to achieve it. One fact I have gleaned through this program, not through coursework per se, but simply by participating in this online mode has taught me how important accessibility is for all students. In several courses including current work in CEP 820 we use the principles of Universal Design for Learning to refine our own online teaching models. Without MSU’s commitment to offering this equitable MAED program, I would not have advanced further in my practice in such a meaningful and personal way.
My coursework has also allowed me to become a better listener, observer, and seeker of information about my students. I have had the opportunity to conduct two comprehensive case studies while in this program. The first was in TE 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners. Here I focused on a middle school learner who had difficulties with word meaning and comprehension. After an extensive investigation into her reading processes which included interviews and the use of a Core Reading Maze Comprehension Test, the data seemed inconclusive, or at least conflicted with her performance on other assessments. What I did find though was that there was a consistency in her inconsistency to perform well on reading comprehension assessments. There was an undefined but noticeable concern regarding her working memory, or what her mother referred to as “absent mindedness”. Ultimately our staff team used, in part, the research I had conducted to make decisions on whether or not to move her into a special education setting for her ELA class. Many of us have the art of teaching somewhat honed, but this reignited excitement for scientific investigation allowed me to take on a more comprehensive role in the decision making process for my students and give them the supports they need.
I conducted another case study through ED 802 Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning. In this study I focused on another middle school student from the same grade and class who was having trouble with task initiation and completion as well as behavioral issues. My analysis of these concerns using the TARGET model is available in this screencast of my Design Project presentation. The result of this case study did have measurable positive outcomes. By taking a closer look into the why of the issues this student was facing with motivation, I was able to more effectively support her learning as well as request additional support from our counseling team, benefitting both her, and my ability to teach. While these behaviors did not immediately cease, they did reduce in frequency and intensity making our classroom a more conducive environment in which to learn for all students, adding noticeable value to my teaching practice.
Since I first investigated the MAED program at MSU, sending in my application, and excitedly opening the acceptance letter, I have moved through three different teaching positions in three separate public school districts. I have only taught three quarters of a school year in my four years as a teacher that haven’t been affected by this Covid -19 pandemic, even as it begins to wane. I chose to focus my efforts on Literacy being that this is my primary focus already as an English Language Arts teacher. However, my choice to also seek a certificate for Online Teaching and Learning was rooted in this new reality we all found ourselves in in the spring of 2020. Having taught the last quarter of my first year as a certified professional remotely was something I never could have imagined. Innovation, design, and implementation started immediately. We had no choice but to adapt.
This long season of transitions has been beyond challenging in many ways, but beneficial in many others. I finally feel that I am in the right position, in the right public school district, teaching the right curriculum with the right people, namely my wife of twenty years, Nicole. In fact, it was her own experience in the MAED that led me to also apply and fulfill my desire to be a Spartan. We hatched a plan over a decade ago to go back to college, become teachers, and move to northern Michigan. I could never have foreseen that we would end up teaching in the same building, let alone next door to one another, sharing the same prep and lunch periods. It’s rather poetic when I reflect on the challenges we have both faced in our individual and collective lives. All these benefits aside, it hasn’t always been an easy road. We’ve worked a multitude of jobs unrelated to teaching so that we could move, keep at least one of us in school until we both graduated, supporting one another and our family. I took a similar but longer path as Nicole, but we both made it. Now we have this program, this degree, and this new knowledge of teaching in common. I can see how her experience in the MAED program shapes her teaching and she often remarks how my experiences over the past two years are shaping mine. It has made a positive difference in both of our lives on many different levels.
The year I earned my secondary teaching certificate by way of a one year accelerated residency program through Saginaw Valley State University, I taught 8th grade ELA while also working as an academic aide. I don’t know how I made it through some days, but one writing unit I distinctly remember teaching was based on the original This I Believe radio program hosted by Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955 in which famous as well as common citizens were invited to write a five hundred word essay on a belief they have. This I Believe had several incarnations including a more modern NPR version which ran from 2005 to 2009. While writing this synthesis essay and thinking about a crafty title, I recalled those three words and how powerful they have been to so many writers, rendering a purity of belief about something bigger than the writer themselves. These are not dogmatic or political beliefs. They are human beliefs, experiential beliefs, rooted in the author's individual schema. I believe I became a teacher based on my own experiences as a student, ranging from kindergarten to college. I truly loved my time in school. Of course there were adverse times, but the whole of my educational path was essentially good.
Choosing to continue my education with another degree at this late juncture in life, though still early in this newly attained career seemed unnecessary. But I truly can’t imagine having had this opportunity and not taking it. I love school. I love teaching and I love being a student. I am now where I was always meant to be. My wife is a firm believer in the sentiment that “things” happen for a reason, that there is order in the universe and not chaos, though oftentimes it feels as though the latter is more true. I am many things to many people. But at this moment, I am a Spartan. I am a teacher. And I can make a difference in this world. This I Believe.