Reflecting on Learning

     Upon reflection on the field of early childhood and what I hope to be able to accomplish one thing comes to mind- that every child know that they matter, that they know that I believe in them and that I care about them as people.  All too often we as educators get caught up in the daily things such as standardized tests, scores, and things of that nature, but my goal is to let each child know that they matter to me outside of the scores and the testing.
     I want to teach children to be confident in themselves and to have faith in themselves rather than to make excuses; excuses are what you get as a result of a child being frustrated and not getting something.  I know that I cannot go home with the students, but if only one person tells these children that they matter, that they can do whatever it is they aspire to do, that there is no dream out of their reach if they are willing to work hard to get there, then I want that person to be me.
     Thank you to all of my colleagues who I have learned so much from during this course; the course materials are good, but the experiences that we share and the diversity that we bring to the table make this course fantastic!  Thank you to Dr. Shepard for being there when I had questions about things; I also appreciate the feedback on each and every assignment as I feel like your words helped guide me and make me better.  Good luck in the future courses to all of you!