Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

MATC Synthesis Paper

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Masters of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Teaching
Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

Samantha M. Gucciardo
PID A00 00 0000
May 2015

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

Introduction
Have you ever been told, you cant do something? Have you ever felt out of place?
Have you ever decided to hide parts of who you are, in order to fit in, rather than stand out?
There are many times in life that those incidents can occur, and the more often they do, the less
we have confidence in who we are and who we want to become. It takes Courage to Teach
because not only are we finding what masterpiece we are in this world, we are trying to let those
sitting in desks giving us their undivided attention (most days), find what masterpiece they are
too.
Nelson Mandela a man of great strength, once said, Education is the most powerful
weapon that can be used to change the world. I have had mixed feelings about that quote,
because Im honored to be part of sharing education with others, but also question if I have what
it takes to live up to the standards my students need. The perfectionism and standards based
expectations of teaching keeps education very uniformed and narrowly focused. However, does
the basis for education always have to be that way?
Lets take a look at the following scenario: You are asked to walk across a quick moving
river. There is no bridge in site. You are told that things will be ok, if you just follow this one
path of stepping stones or the path of education. Although youre a little hesitant, you jump to
one stone, learn what you can, then move to the next. Then there comes a time when you are not
ready to move on yet, so you decide to take a step back to learn a little more. Unfortunately
when you do that in school, you fall behind from everyone else. Then you start to worry that you
need to move more quickly, because if you dont jump fast enough, you fall even more behind.
When you struggle to catch up, and begin going faster just to keep up, you lose your balance. In
that moment, you know, this is not the right path for me.

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

At some point, we start to see and acknowledge that there are many flaws on this one
path. Then we question, why is that the same path we continue to take over and over again?
Could there be another way? It is in the moment that you question and form your own opinion
about your path, that you start to become your masterpiece.
Life and education are not a race, it is a journey. The nice things about stepping stones
that people may neglect, there is not only one path of stones to get across the river, and you can
take a few stones to the left or a few to the right. Your journey will get you to where you need to
go, or maybe even end up somewhere you never thought youd go, but find out you love it
anyways. While on that journey, you take many moments to stop and be grateful that you made
the decision to step away from a plan that wasnt right for you and have the courage to moved
two stones to the left.
As educators we need to become creative masterpieces, so our students can follow their
own set of stepping stones and become the creative masterpieces they were meant to be. So how
do we get to that point? How do we guide others?
Self-Reflective Educators
I think we begin being leaders when we learn about the type of person we are and what
traits we can offer and what traits we need to work on. I feel that the MATC program allowed for
many different opportunities to be a reflective teacher, but one assignment not only reflected the
style of teaching, it reflected my own personal characteristics. This self-reflection was developed
in Artifact 3 where we read about Goldmans 5 areas of Emotional Intelligences and identified
what areas we find strength and what areas we find weaknesses. I found that my area of strength
is empathy and social awareness. At the time I was taking this course I was teaching in a Center
Based School where every student had a cognitive disability and some with behavioral

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

challenges as well. We offered services to those students because their home districts are unable
to provide all that they need. Therefore, by working in this setting I have become very apt to treat
every student on an individual basis and develop a strong caring, compassionate, rapport with
each and every one of my students. I also get to know the families well, and form strong
relationships with them. I think that job has furthered my nurturing side and ability to take time
to be understanding and do what is best for the person(s) involved.
However, I also found flaws in who I am and where I needed to improve. I needed to
grow in is self-regulation and self-management. At the time, I had the ability to control a lot of
what goes on in my classroom and be a strong advocate for what I feel my students need most.
However, I had a tendency to think I knew my students best because I was with them more than
the support service team. I had some trust issues that the student will not get everything that they
deserve. I had seen some support staff not give the students as much as I think they deserve, so
the issue of trust plays a big factor. However, I have to understand and learn that each
professional has different view-points and although I may not agree, they may have a logical
explanation as to why they do things the way they do.
Educational Impact and our need for Student Advocacy
After self-reflection, we begin to analyze who we are and find out what kind of
masterpieces we want to be, we need to think about how our role will impact others. I hope as
educators in our field we have the ability to give what our students need and never feel that we or
our students cant grow. In EAD 822, I wrote an article review about teachers who teach in an
urban setting, but have not lived in the culture. I found that teacher do not fully understand the
challenges students face in an urban setting or understand why the educational systems may lag
behind in areas. The focus is too much on the stereotypes, instead of looking at each individual

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

for who they are. I based my paper off Artifact 4, which was an article by Joseph Flessas titled,
Urban School Principles, Deficit Frameworks, and Implications for Leadership. This article was
about a student that was considered to be a minority in a senior high-school class, who could not
read or write. The appalling part was that the educator didnt think twice to help that student, but
rather brushed that student off like he didnt matter. The teacher of that student stated, I cant
do anything about him, just let him do whatever, and hell get byThats a lost cause. I
couldnt believe that happened to a student and that educators that have that attitude. This is
where the problems come into play and the unwillingness to help another person out, is why our
society will not improve. Regardless of race or culture, that student needed support and
guidance to be able to read and write.
Making the need for student advocacy a reality
There is NOT one student out there, who is a lost cause. I believe teachers guide students
on their own path. Not leave them stranded on one stone to watch life past them by. We can
guide others by following Artifact 2, which was an article written by Johnson (2006) titled
Privilege, Power, and Difference. He discussed that change can happen; we, as educators just
need to move forward and set examples. The example listed in Privilege, Power, and Difference,
demonstrated, that the simplest way to help others make a different choice is to make them
myself, and to do it openly (p. 134). Johnson felt its more effective to set an example for others
to follow, rather than force to change someone. They will learn through your own actions.
In Artifact 1 I read an article titled, Holding Nyla by Kissinger. The lesson in this
article was not taught by person who studied education their whole lives. In fact, they didnt
attend school for much time at all. This person, was only in Pre-School and taught a lesson that
adults forgot to acknowledge each day. A student without fear or hesitation of seeing a child,

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

Nyla, with a physical and cognitive disability went right up to her and welcomed her into his
general education setting. One day, the student went up to Nylas mother and told her how much
he liked Nyla and was glad to have a best friend.
After reading that article, I smiled knowing that Nyla was accepted by her peers and was
loved. She is a very courageous girl that is the definition of strength and determination. She was
true to who she was, and although her outer appearance was different than her peers, she too
could be a friend. A best friend. We have to remember, there is never a lost cause or only one
way to learn, and the path will lead us to where we belong, if we are given support.
Life is full of obstacles that I think we often times make bigger than what they are. We
are challenged and run from fear instead of conquering our fear and finding that in the end
maybe we didnt have to be so scared to begin with. Its funny that that is a concept as grown
adults we veer away from, but pre-school students have more confidence to try and face
unfamiliar situations with a loving and caring heart.
In Artifact 7, an article, Privilege, Oppression, and Difference by Johnson, had an
interesting statement, There is nothing inherently frightening about what we dont know. If we
feel afraid it isnt what we dont know that frightens us, its what we think we do know. (p. 13)
I think that is true in many cases in life, we fear the future so much that we forget to live in the
present. We worry that the absolute worse can occur so we try to fix what we can, before
allowing that idea of fear to happen. Its a weird way to live life, and truly not a healthy way.
Or maybe its not a way to live at all. You dont know what is to come, down to the next second,
but if we stay idle, and never move because of fear, than we will never know either way. And
maybe, that fear we thought was there, may not be, if we overcome that fear.

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

I also admired that the author pointed out that the labels we have on ourselves and the
labels put on other people are very different. Different, due to the lack of understanding, due to
prior socialization, and making assumptions as a group or type before knowing the person.
(p. 20) I work with students with special needs and we were also taught to use, person first
language. This means, you dont put a label on the child/student first, they are a person first, and
the label our society has attached is just one piece of who they are as a whole. If we change to
think that way, then we will most likely find more similarities than differences in who we are.
We need to look at people as a person, before a stereotype.
Guiding students on a path with options and a caring heart
As an educator, I feel it is necessary to help students gain confidence, through listening,
understanding, trust, and love for all people. I dont feel it is ever too early to stop the silence and
correct the messages that are misinformed. We need to follow the path of our pre-school
students.
The challenge of reforming education is the politics at the State and National level that
trickle down into each school. The idea of having a common core curriculum will allow teachers
from room to room and state to state to have the same guidelines to follow. However, the
negative side is that all students do not learn at the same pace, especially the students that are
diagnosed with a disability. Therefore are the students that need more individualized support
and they continue to fall behind. Those students are not succeeding because they are not
academically capable of learning, but because the format of our education system is failing them.
As part of my MATC coursework, referenced in Article 6, I had to develop a structure to
teach reading to students with a wide range of needs. I had a group of students that were non-

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

readers, to students that were at a 5th grade reading level. I titled this portion of my structure;
Where to Begin? I used an approach called the backwards design method. Bains wrote about
this approach in Chapter 3, How Do They Prepare to Teach? in the book, What the Best
College Teachers Do. This method is where the teacher looks at the most valuable
information/content and formulates goals for students to accomplish. Therefore, the goals are
your guide to teaching. Then the lesson plans are built and structured to fit those goals. That was
very useful strategy and one that I used often in my classroom. I think this method helps
educators teach in a more individualized manner.
I found this backwards design method to also help me with teach in other settings with a
range of socio-economic status. In Artifact 5, Lopez, Scribner, and Mahiticanichchas article
(2001). Redefining Parental Involvement: Lessons From High-Performing Migrant-Impacted
Schools acknowledges that there are differences, racial and social class, but instead of refusing to
see the difference, a solution to improve current conditions were initiated. As important as it is
for teachers to build trusting relationships with their students, it is equally as important to build
trusting relationships with parents. There needs to be open communication and opportunities to
work together on new projects or ideas from the ground up.
The idea of the TIER 3 models that have been implemented throughout the country has
made many great changes. It shows student growth and also student weaknesses. I like the
process of intervention and the structure that leads to greater support. I also think this is a path
that can allow for a different way of learning, but still stay within the boundaries of their peers.
We want students to be successful, and find ways that they can learn best.
I have been pleased with the changes in education and I truly feel that there has been
more opportunities for students and their learning styles. I think education is not so rigid and

Finding a Path to Become a Masterpiece

proves that students do not always stay on one path of stones, but veer off to the side to find an
alternate route of learning. Im honored to work amongst teachers that value those differences
and are accommodating to the student that needs that time to find their own way of learning.
Conclusion
I feel the educational systems want students to be successful and become well-rounded
individuals. However, there are still many areas that need to be revisited and modifications that
need to be made, to fit every students learning needs. In the book, The Dream Keepers by Gloria
Ladson-Billings, the philosophy of teaching in Africa has some similarities to the Americanized
way of teaching, but our system in America often gets overshadowed by new curriculum
standards and benchmarks students should be reaching at specific grade levels. Gloria LadsonBillings stated,
Teachers see their teaching as an art, rather than a technical skill. They believe that all of
their students can succeed rather than that failure is inevitable. They see themselves as
part of the community and they see teaching as giving back to the community. They help
students make connections between their local, national, racial, cultural, and global
identities. (p. 25, 1994)
As educators in America we need to find a balance between reaching state and national
standards, and embracing our students identity. We need to first understand our students, show
them that we care, find understanding, then find different stepping stones for our students to take,
that fit who they are and how they learn.

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10

References

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press.
Johnson, A. (2006). Privilege, power, and difference (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Kissinger, K., (2013), Holding Nyla, Lessons from an inclusion classroom, Rethinking my
Classroom, pp.25-27
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African
American Children. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Lopez, Scribner, and Mahiticanichcha (2001). Redefining Parental Involvement:
Lessons From High-Performing Migrant-Impacted Schools. American Educational
Research Journal.
Parker J. Palmer, (2007). The Courage to Teach, Exploring the Inner Landscape of Teacher's
Life. 10th ed. San Franciso, California: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.