Concluding Post: An Open Letter to My Students

Dear Past, Current, and Future Students,

Whether it is hello again or hello for the first time, I’d like to start off by sharing a quick story with you.  In the fall of my 8^th grade year at Central Middle School in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, I completed a life map for one of my classes.  In this map, I had to identify memorable and “defining” experiences in my past as well as include goals I would like to accomplish in the future.  I ended up saving this life map and stored it with other papers, projects, awards, and artifacts in a box labeled “Amanda – School” in my parent’s basement.  I recently went through this box and came across my life map – what was once an assignment now became a time capsule of sorts.  I read over the goals I had 

Ms. Raupp's 8th Grade Life Map

set for myself and reflected on what I had actually accomplished since 2003.

Play basketball, sing in the choir all four years of high school, and graduate with a high GPA – check!  Attend and graduate from the University of Michigan – check!  Work at a latchkey program in the Plymouth-Canton Schools throughout college and start substitute teaching after graduation – check!  This is a little eerie…every goal that I had set for myself I actually accomplished.  I partly attribute this to being goal-oriented and driven – when I set my mind to do something, I do it!  I am also a planner (for those of you I taught in the past, you can attest to this).  I like having a big picture in mind so that I can be fully prepared for what lies ahead. 

As I keep reading through my life map, I did not get hired to teach in Plymouth-Canton.  Instead, I landed in Livonia Public Schools where I was able to teach in five schools over two and a half years of working in the district.  I was fortunate to work with an amazingly talented staff whom I learned so much from and an awesome group of students (for all of my former students reading this, you truly are awesome!).  I’m adding a scenic route to my map; I will be moving to Hartland Consolidated Schools to teach this upcoming school year (for my current students, I am look forward to discovering how awesome you are!).  As for further down the road, who knows?  I am at a point now where I know myself well enough – both personally and professionally – to be willing to accept the uncertainty of not knowing what lies ahead, but learning to embrace the journey.

So at this point you are probably asking yourself, “Why is Ms. Raupp sharing this with us?”  (And if you are, that’s great – I want you to keep asking “WHY?” for the rest of your life!)  Many people consider life to be a journey and I want to challenge you to think of your time as a student as a journey.  Educator Ralph W. Tyler says, “Learning takes places through the experiences which the learner has.”  And it is through my own personal journey that I can share how true that statement is.  I could watch my mom cook dinner night after night, but didn’t learn how to cook myself until I got my hands dirty and actually started cooking on my own.  I could watch my 10^th grade math teacher go over countless examples of factoring, but never have the confidence in my own skills to factor until I had practiced on my own.  I could sit through hours of lecture in education courses in college and read textbook after textbook about educational theories and what to do when teaching and what not to do when teaching, yet I never actually learned what teaching truly entails until I was able to experience teaching as a student teacher and later on as a teacher.  It took being thrown into a classroom of my own for me to think and act like a teacher.  I’ve learned that the best learning occurs not through reading, watching, or listening – but through experiencing.

I am still learning to embrace this philosophy in my personal life and professional life.  As your teacher, I am going to make every attempt to provide as many opportunities as I can for you to engage in learning experiences that are appropriate for your skills, abilities, needs, and interests that will in turn advance your knowledge base.  Educational theorist John Dewey related curriculum to a map:  A map provides direction to guide a student’s journey through school.  My role as an educator is that of a facilitator; I will plan lessons and activities that you will be able to experience.  I must admit that I feel I let down some of my past students because I tended to exert a little too much control.  I wanted all of my students to master an objective in a particular manner and frankly that is completely unrealistic considering the diverse needs, strengths, and weaknesses of my students.  I have learned (and am still learning) to hand over more control to YOU.  There are many paths students can travel and still master a curricular objective.  That is my promise to current and future students:  I am going to allow you to jump into a lesson or activity without holding your hand every step of the way.  (After all, you’re not a little kid anymore.  But don’t panic, I’ll still be there to provide support and advice.)  Through your own unique experiences, you will be drawn to topics that will simply “click” for you. Other topics will frustrate you beyond belief.  But I want you to remember that each experience you encounter as a student, whether positive or negative, will guide you in learning how to learn – and that is truly a life skill. 

Use these experiences to learn more about yourself as a student and, more importantly, as a person.  Just because you leave school, doesn’t mean you are no longer a student (I still consider myself a student).  Embrace learning experiences when they are presented in your life.  Feel free to use the map that I’ve shared with you as a guide, but don’t be alarmed if roadblocks appear and a detour is needed…sometimes a path less traveled leads to a more rewarding and fulfilling experience.  Feel free to pursue your own paths on your journey; although uncharted territory may be slightly nerve-racking and intimidating, look forward to the places you’ll go and the people you’ll meet and know that you‘ll learn a lot through each and every experience.

Wishing you all the best on your own personal journey!  To the students I taught in the past, hope you enjoyed the time when our paths crossed.  To my current and future students, looking forward to being part of your educational journey – looking forward to the many learning experiences that await us!

Best Wishes,

Ms. Raupp