Future Education in a Classroom?
-Alexandra Street
What does my future in continuing education look like after acquiring my Master's this spring? This is a question I have been asking myself for a few months now. Will I do more structured teaching? Will I have the young minds that I teach become my teachers? Will learning from other experiences and building on those going to be enough? I sit and wonder where my formal teaching will take me.
Now, I have taken the time to sit down and think about these questions and feel I have come up with a good educational plan for myself. After I graduate in May, my education will need to continue. As far as formal education, I do not see much of that in my immediate future. Either this summer or next fall, I plan to start my own field hockey club. I am working with a club team right now, but I have never started one up from scratch and done all of the planning. So far I feel that I have been going in the right track and taking steps to learning the ropes of the business. But, I do know there is a lot more that goes into running a successful club than I have learned so far. I will need to enhance my knowledge on the business side of running a club. If errors are made, it is other peoples finances and my business that are going to be reflected. I plan to learn about the business aspects of running a club by meeting with people from previous clubs, analyzing what works for them and what they would change, and I am meeting with a lawyer to make sure I am starting my company in the right direction. Learning the different aspects of running a club has been humbling to me because I never knew the extent of time, energy and funds that went into running a good organization.
Learning from the players I teach is an area I want to increase. Really understanding what they want and need is what I believe is my first step to success. I will make it a point to have the athletes be clear about what they want to learn and get out of the sport of field hockey. It is often that athletes do not know what they want or need. So, within my club I hope to continue to learn new techniques to get the best out of my athletes. In the aspects of being a good coach, staying engaged in the individuals’ lives helps me learn what encourages their progress and succeed. Great advice I once told was, “if you do not know what the athletes want and need, ask them”. The concept sounds simple, but it is often looked over. As coaches, a lot of the times we feel we already know the answers without talking directly to the source. I plan to continue my development with coaching by getting in touch with my athletes and listening to their aspirations. This is my favorite part of coaching. Learning about each person and how they are as individuals off the field as well as hockey players. Developing relationship is what makes coaching so meaningful to me. Starting my own club will allow me to continue to learn more about each athlete.
Areas that I need to stay fresh and up to date are coaching knowledge and new aspects of the field hockey game. This is where I see myself having formal training in the near future. I will need to attend the coach’s conventions that are offered. There are also clinics and forums that are accessible that would benefit my coaching ideas and keep them fresh. I have attended multiple coaches’ clinics that are encouraged to spark ideas of coaching. I enjoy these clinics and plan to be present at future opportunities to stay abreast on new field hockey curriculum. There are also opportunities at these forums to present to my peers. I will need to be aware of these and capitalize on occasions where I feel my personal development will benefit as well as the club. This form of formal education will most likely be my first step of classroom education after fulfilling my Master's degree.
Overall, continuing my education is important to me. I feel that it keeps me current and helps me strive to be better. Although, I do not see formal teaching as a big part of near future, learning will always be continued through other portals.
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