D3. The teacher values and seeks professional growth.
During my time as a student teacher, I was lucky enough to have gotten close with a lot of the other teachers near my classroom to the point where they gave me their contact information and told me to let them know if I ever needed a reference or help with applying to jobs. Outside of the school environment, though, I also attended webinars through my Curriculum and Instruction class that pertained how to fully receive certification after student teaching and how to construct a resumé geared towards hiring educators. My mentor teacher also sent me the Google Slides presentations of webinars and meetings she would attend to provide more resources for me. Through attending the Education Career Fair held by Penn State, I was also urged to do more research on the schools I was looking to apply to, along with reaching out to school principals, human resource personnel, and other recruiters to become more knowledgeable about what schools in other areas besides Pennsylvania are doing in terms of attempting to bring students back in the classroom for the 2021-2022 school year.
As shown in the screenshot from my final evaluation above, my supervisor also thought I “consistently completed detailed lesson plans on time or early and took initiative for helping in the classroom”. I am a very organized person and know how things can backfire without the proper planning. Although I cannot trust that everything go perfectly and smoothly every time, I do my best in being prepared and making sure the people around me are, as well. I hope to continue to meet expectations and fulfill responsibilities as my student teaching semester comes right around the corner.