Chelsea Neal Nelson

Dr. Albers
PDP 450
01/09/17
A Reflection On My Time at Bridgewater

I feel very fortunate to have been able to call Bridgewater College my home for

the last 3 years. When I came to Bridgewater in the spring of 2014 I was unsure of

what I wanted to do with my life and unsure of who I was as a person. Bridgewater

College helped shape me into the person I am today in many different ways. Bridgewater

allowed me to choose my own educational journey based on my personal needs and

goals. While at Bridgewater, I was introduced to many diverse perspectives, which

challenged me both intellectually and personally. I have been given opportunities to grow

in both my academic citizenship and responsibility in the surrounding community.

Bridgewater has done an incredible job of helping me to reflect on my ethical

development and has provided me with plenty of classes and opportunities to grow

further. I have had the opportunity to travel to different continents and see the world from

a different perspective. Finally Bridgewater has helped me find my place in the world and

has given me opportunities to engage in my profession first hand. After my time at

Bridgewater I feel prepared for whatever comes next.

My Personalized Educational Program

When you think about beginning a college career you typically think of moving

into a freshman dorm, participating in hall events, meeting new people, and enjoying

newfound freedom. My college journey didnt start off like that at all. When I graduated

high school, from Louisa County High School, I didnt know what I wanted to do with

my life. I was comfortable at home with my mom and sisters, so I decided to stay in my

comfort zone. I enrolled at J-Sarge Community College and began down the path for
nursing. I slowly started to lose my motivation for school; this was not something I

wanted for myself. I began visiting Bridgewater because my closest friend from my

hometown went there, after time I fell in love with the atmosphere of the campus and

knew this was the place for me. I started to look into transferring and was accepted spring

semester of 2014. Upon beginning my enrollment at Bridgewater I contemplated what I

wanted to major in, I knew I wasnt happy with nursing so I went searching for my

passion. My friends and family have always told me that they have seen me to one day

become a teacher, that my personality and love for children was perfect for the career. I

knew how much I enjoyed being around kids and teaching them from various babysitting

jobs, working at a summer day camp and being a youth group leader, so I decided to give

the classes a try. I immediately fell in love with the profession and was genuinely

interested in learning anything I could about it. My journey at Bridgewater was not the

norm starting as a shy, introverted transfer student but now leaving 3 years later a

confident, responsible, self-reflecting individual.

Having completing the education program I am able to see growth in my abilities

and how much this program has made me become the educator I want to be. During my

final education class we were required to create a unit based on a SOL requirement of our

choice with a minimum of ten lesson plans. Beginning this program I would not have had

the skills or knowledge to create an entire unit on my own. Having the confidence and all

of the resources to complete this helped me look back on my growth throughout my 3

years in the program. (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gWInTLzf-

RmeD7vuYpBys8d_kTYvZw7n56ghE6EmUa8) Comparing my lesson plans I created in

this unit to some of the first ones I created shows a huge improvement. This also helps

me to see all of my strengths and weaknesses as an educator.

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pgC-tJ0AUaZj-

6sjx93cwpXLq7KBAXOJIEftJIv4t7E)

Having the ability to recognize self-growth and reflection on my own work has

significantly changed over my time at Bridgewater. All of the professors were able to

contribute to my growth and confidence as an educator. Bridgewaters education program

not only gave me the tools I needed to succeed in my career chosen but the strategies to

analyze myself and lessons for future lessons.

Engagement with Diverse Perspectives

Another reason, I enjoyed the atmosphere of Bridgewater College is the diverse

environment of the school. Students, professors and staff were not all the same and yet

there was such a community environment feel it became comforting from the beginning.

This was a new perspective to me; I grew up in a small town where there was not many

diverse ethnicities, cultures or religions. Before becoming a student I was introduced to a

student who had came from Dubai to study there. Over the years I became close with her

and had the chance to learn about a different culture that she grew up in. These

opportunities expanded my knowledge and mind about the world around me, helping me

to become not only a well-rounded individual but educator, as well.

As a future educator I hope to be able to create a diverse and inclusive classroom

that makes all students who enter my classroom feel welcomed, comfortable and safe in

their learning environment. My goal is to make each student to feel like an individual and
understand that everyone is different but this is something we want them to not only

accept but celebrate.

One of the first courses education students were required to take was Diversity in the

Classroom, taught by Dr. Hawk. This course was the first step in preparing myself and

others to become open-minded, welcoming educators. It was one of the courses at

Bridgewater that I believe will continue to shape my professional development for the

rest of my career. Throughout the semester we were encouraged to examine our personal

beliefs and how to incorporate the entire spectrum of learners within our classroom. This

was the first educator class I took that included a field experience within it. I was placed

at Keister Elementary School, with Mrs. Shifflet as my cooperating teacher. Our required

reflection assignments had various topics and were in some way pertaining to the

diversity inside your school. Language was one of the required topics we needed to

reflect on while observing; why language is important, how it is used within the

classroom and how it is a diverse perspective.

(https://drive.google.com/open?

id=1VI1ltmqH_mGc4WpSDTeXSt5MaLgx6DcfZtZkVxzE_dA)

This topic was a broader range, since we were required to find percentages and statistics

of language within the county of our school to help understand the area better. This

assignment helped me step back as an educator analyze something so simple, but still

very important within a school. I was able to see how a language can change the

atmosphere of a classroom or the teaching strategies one had. After I completed this

course I feel that I have been equipped with the skills to handle not only language

diversity, but diversity in general within my classroom.

This course established a foundation for becoming a successful classroom teacher,

emphasizing on complete inclusion and mutual respect between each other. I believe this

course is vital within our career; celebrating diversity in the classroom and having the

ability to treat every student as their own person. Being able to create a fun, safe learning

environment first hand is key within my job and I think this course helped me become

stronger in my abilities to do this. In addition, this class helped me to discover my

passion for inclusion, and is one of the many reasons I would like to continue my

education, after a few years of teaching in order to obtain my Masters Degree in special

education. I have been researching various programs to get a head start and believe

Liberty Universitys program will be a great fit for my teaching schedule and desired

goals.

Citizenship, Ethics and & Community Responsibility

As a student at Bridgewater College I have never truly felt alone. The

small,community atmosphere of this school is one of the things I quickly recognized

while visiting. The academic community that has been created has been upheld over the

course of my time here. Professors have always been welcoming to give help and

genuinely interested in my educational path. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I love

that professors hold each student accountable by taking attendance and expecting

participating every time you enter their classroom.

When I first came to Bridgewater I did not expect the attendance policy to be so

strict, I was expecting the rumors of college attendance to be true. I believed that college

would be like the movies, I would be able to skip as much as I wanted, barely try and

successfully graduate with a good GPA. My first semester I was taking my introductory
communications class, I accidentally slept through my first speech presentation. I learned

quickly how big of an accident this was. When I woke up and realized what had

happened I ran to my professor's office to beg for a second chance to present. Luckily,

she decided to give me another chance but warned me that this would only be allowed

one time. I was lectured on how college is a place where I am expected to be responsible

and that consequences will be enforced when you choose otherwise. This was a lesson I

had to learn the hard way, but it is easily one of the most important ones. Looking back

throughout my college time I am thankful that I was expected to to every class and that

my professors invested their time and experience into ensuring my academic success.

During Classroom Management our final project was to create a management

model, accumulating all the knowledge we learned from the course, acknowledged

education professional and our field experience. (https://drive.google.com/open?

id=1VLEbXic8RXQ0Wrwcu-QlY4bf2e0DtIPyQjSXj5uHjf4) This forced me to really set

up my personal views and beliefs for my future classroom and how I would want to be

seen as an educator to the outside. Creating a teacher philosophy incorporates your ethics,

beliefs and strategies of teaching. This simple statement can show parents, co-workers,

administration and the community how your classroom atmosphere will be. I truly

believe that my philosophy that all students should show fairness, loyalty, friendship,

responsibility and hard-working would not be the same if not for Bridgewater College.

These have become the expectations for myself because of the college I chose.

Global Citizenship & Intellectual Competencies

Throughout my journey through the Bridgewater College Teacher Elementary

Education Program there have been many life changing experiences that have helped
positively change my outlook as an individual, as well as, a future teacher. At the end of

my freshman year I discovered the study abroad's programs that are offered through the

college. My roommate had heard rumors about how amazing the Interterm trip to South

Africa was, my curiosity took over and we set up a meeting with Dr. Frueh to receive

more information. After the first meeting I was hooked, I knew I had to take this amazing

opportunity. Unfortunately, my mother was not able to cover the full cost of the trip so I

set my goal to earn the total amount myself during the summer (2014). I worked two

jobs, and was taking two summer classes. This was a stressful and overwhelming

summer, at times I just wanted to quit but I kept reminding myself of my goal. And,

believe me it a paid off beyond belief. Finally, January came my nerves and excitement

were too much to bear, this would be my first opportunity to travel out of the country.

After 17 hours of flight time, we set foot in South Africa, tired, smelly but all the more

excited for the adventure I was about to embark on. While I had spent plenty of time

reading and learning about poverty in my course at school, this was the first time I was

able firsthand. Separation of social class was very evident from the moment we began to

explore Johannesburg. Visiting Johannesburg was one of the most memorable moments,

we were taken to the slum villages and were able to see and interact with the families that

live in such poverty. It broke my heart to see families living this way, but their happiness

was radiating the entire time, which helped open my eyes to how grateful they are for

what they do have. Seeing the amount of acceptance, appreciation and joy from these

families is something I would like to bring into my teaching methods. As an educator,

this pulled at my heartstrings, the children had so little but had so much joy just to meet

new people. I want to share this experience with each class to help them see that others
have so little but we can learn from this and appreciate the education we can have.

Returning from this trip we were required to write a reflection on our time in this

beautiful country.

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=171S4Oz_bHg-6fmaTuqrsvvU-

6qm7K0ODJUFSZOtUrII)

This reflection gave me a chance to share my time in South Africa; from

everything I experienced, what I saw and what I had learned from traveling. A simple trip

gave me an insight on aspects of another country, and the passion for traveling.

Traveling was not something I saw myself doing ever, but the experience opened

my mind and heart to a whole new world of adventure. South Africa will always be one

of the most memorable and life-changing experiences I have received while at

Bridgewater. Bridgewater has forced me to look at various aspects of the world through

the requirements for global diversity courses. At times, this seemed pointless, but I am

realizing now how much it has changed my outlook and goals for myself. And, as a future

educator I believe this has made me become a more well-rounded individual which will

help me to become a better educator for my students. I will have the opportunity to

continuously share my experiences and help instill the passion of exploration within

them, as well.

Experiential or Service Learning

Bridgewater College has given me various opportunities to practice in my field

and gain not only textbook knowledge but also hands on experience. Being a part of the

education program students were required to spend a specific amount of hours in a real

classroom and depending on the course the hours increased as well as the students
involvement. This gradual increase helped me to gain confidence in my abilities within

the classroom and prepared me for student teaching. Within each field experience taken

professors required students to write detailed reflections pertaining about their time spent

inside the classroom. During my final field experience before student teaching I was

required to reflect on a lesson plan that I taught; I needed to become my own critic.

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xzRnDvnm4D0rKb_YVIgjkaXIper1R-dmN8M35aWUV1Y)

Having the ability to do this as an educator is vital; teachers must be able to evaluate their

own teaching skills so that they are always working towards becoming a better educator

for their students. Even though at the time I did not understand the importance of these

papers over time I realized how much it helped to analyze you as an educator, a

classroom environment and students as a whole and individuals.

As graduation approaches I have had the opportunity to reflect on my time spent

at Bridgewater College. Having finished the education program requirements in

December and now completing a few general education courses, I feel that I am leaving

prepared for the real world. I am still nervous and a bit terrified for this next chapter,

however, I believe all of the experiences, lessons learned and opportunities throughout

my time have equipped me for reality. I feel that I have grown in my intellectual abilities

and have learned the importance of self-evaluation, learning not only from the curriculum

but from everyone I have encountered. Finally, I believe this college has successfully

prepared me for post-graduate life by emphasizing the importance of setting goals and

continuing to persevere when I fall short. I am leaving a trained and knowledgeable

educator, many memories and lifetime friends and colleagues. I will forever look back at

this place as a second home and be proud to call myself an Alumni.

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