​​George Saville penned these wise words over three and a half centuries ago:  "The best way to suppose what may come is to remember what is past."  Like a gardener who has sown his seed, a person knows what he may expect because of the seeds he has sown.  A good gardener also knows that what may come, if it is to be worthwhile, does not come easily.  And so he furnishes his shed with the tools essential for the task.  As the seeds give way to life, he cares for his crop by feeding it and watering it, and by taking a hoe or a rake to encroaching weeds that may rob the tender shoots of necessary light and space.  He prepares himself for preserving the harvest by stocking his shelves with jars and freezer bags and sets about the business of putting up what he has sown for future use.​

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When I applied to Michigan State's MA program five years ago, I recognized the value of learning.  I understood that the pursuit of an advanced degree in Education would broaden my perspective and equip me with a better set of tools for accomplishing my goal.  My goal was then, and is now, to become the best teacher I can be.  I believe teaching, like learning, is a continual growth process.  Like the seeds sown by the gardener, they both require vigilant nurturing if they are to become something worthwhile.

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My experiences in this program have made me a better teacher.  I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for children's and adolescent literature.  I have a better grasp on the writing process and all the possible variables that may arise when pursuing it.  I have an entirely new vocabulary and associated mechanisms for accommodating differences in learning abilities.  I comprehend what makes an experience compelling and have a hope of making our educational processes more compelling for students.  I recognize that the domains of a learning society are everywhere, that learning is in everything I do, whether it is within a structured environment intended for that purpose, within my reflections on the work I do each day, or within the leisure I take at the day's end.

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And so it must be with teaching.  It is not just what I do.  It is who I am.  And who I am and choose to be each day teaches others.  And in that teaching are the seeds that I have planted, so that I may know what to expect.

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I will continue to be becoming  the best teacher I can be.​