Education is...

Education is something that has a completely different meaning to me now having gone through undergrad. I took my education for granted and never truly realized how fortunate I was to go to the schools I did and receive the education I did. I now recognize that and want to allow ALL learners to experience what I was able to.

I believe education is a connector for all learners regardless of their gender, age or race while being adaptable for their needs.

'Children can convey the joy of search and research which belongs not only to children, but to women, to men, to humankind - it belongs to life’ - Carlina Rinaldi

Education has become something that I have quickly become very passionate about. I have seen the way that it is able to bring students together who are different in so many ways. The common ground they share, which is learning, is able to bring them closer and their differences are able to add to the experience instead of making it more complicated. It's a way for so many people to connect and when people connect you are able to learn so much more. You can learn from each other and with each other. The other beautiful thing about education is that it is not limited to age, race or gender. I have continued to learn so much from my professors and learn alongside the students in my classroom. My students have taught me how to effectively teach and how to love those around me unconditionally. They have shown me such resiliency that I don't think has the same power as being taught in a lecture. As Carline Rinaldi said, children have such a joy for learning that we too often lose as we get older. She states that this joy belongs to us all. To me, that is what education is about: finding that life long joy of learning more, seeing more and inspiring others to do the same.

These photos showcase that learning and being a student have no start or end age. Education is for anyone at any age in any setting.

In the first photo, we have all types of families collaborating in an art project. This involved those of all ages, learning from others through art.

The second photo shows two of my students from my Fall placement of student teaching creating suspensions for pumpkins. These students are using science, math, and practicings their collaboration skills through being architects.

My third photo shows the joy of learning in my own classmates. We are in such a unique position to be both learners and teachers that it was so exciting to capture that on a photo.

The last photo shows again the age aspect of learning. Miss. Boswell and I were learning how these Kindergarteners best learned, while they are simultaneously learning all about dissecting a worm. So much learning taking place in so many environments.