Why I Am Here and Where I Want to Go: First Reflections on My Professional Journey

Your decision to become a teacher had a starting point. Perhaps you were always the one who was the teacher when you played school with siblings and friends. Perhaps a great teacher made a difference for you and has inspired your choice. Or perhaps you are coming to teaching from another career or life situation.

There are many routes to teaching. As you embark on your own this week, take time to think about why you have made the choice to be a teacher and how your decision-making may influence your expectations for this course, this program, and your ideas about what it means to be a professional.

Keep in mind that teaching is a collaborative experience. You will consider the perspectives of other educators, beginning with those featured in the Learning Resources this week. You will work with other educators, starting with your colleagues in this course. Use this first Discussion to get to know one another and to compare experiences and insights that can help you stay focused throughout the journey ahead.

To Prepare

• Review the Week 1 Learning Resources. Reflect on the reading and video resources that provide guidance on what it means to be a teaching professional.
• Think about concepts or statements from the Learning Resources that are particularly inspiring as guidance for your development as an education professional.
• Be sure you have access to a phone or other device to use in making an informal video to introduce yourself to colleagues.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post the following:

1. Create a short 2- to 3-minute video of yourself (e.g., using a phone) in which you speak to colleagues about the following:
   • Give a short personal introduction (such as your name and location).
   • Explain what prompted your decision to become a teacher.
   • Describe your concept of what makes a teacher a professional. Draw on the Week 1 Learning Resources, including the reading and the teachers profiled in the videos, as well as important teachers in your life.
   • Describe one concept or statement about teaching from the reading or a featured teacher on video that is particularly inspiring to you. Explain why the concept/statement inspires you and how you want to use it as guidance through your professional journey.
2. Create a script of your video presentation. Include a citation in APA style for each Week 1 Learning Resource you include in your script.