Reflective Essay

Shihong(Emily) Xu

EA 8940

5/29/20

How time flies! When I was writing the reflective essay at the table, I realized I almost

completed this challenging but rewarding Ed. Specialist program. A lot of beautiful and amazing

things happened in the program during the two years which I am so grateful for. I do appreciate

Dr. Abbott’s facilitating such a positive and nurturing learning environment for the cohort. I am

also so thankful for her kindness, help and support to me and my family. I know without her, I

cannot go through the journey and finish my degree. Besides, I am so lucky to be in such a

caring, generous, giving and sharing cohort. They’re all special people in my life and we built

such a solid relationship within the group that I will value in the future. Actually, it was so tiring

to drive one hour from Dexter to Bloomfield Monday evening class after having taught for the

whole day, but every time I looked forward to meeting the professors and my classmates. I love

the ideas, experiences, feedback, instructions, stories, thoughts, presentations, team work,

activities, debates, humor, visions, academic knowledge, laughter, and discussions, which

broaden my horizon, spark new ideas, strengthen my understanding of concepts, and inspire me

to become a better educator.

I got a deeper knowledge of my content area, studied pedagogy, goal setting and student

evaluation, etc. in my graduate program of Secondary Education at Oakland University which

was tremendously helpful for me to work as a teacher in a public school. However, I didn’t have

knowledge of all the important aspects of school administration or experience in preparation for

a front-line administrative position. I was eager to go further in the educational area and I was
willing to work hard to be prepared for the opportunity when it came to me because I knew

“chance favors the prepared mind.”

I took a “sponge” learning attitude towards each course, soaking in everything I can, and

released what I learned and shared it with others in my school. For example, by writing the

essays Four Frames and FNO, I took a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses within our

Chinese program and ELL program at DCS and discussed with my team how to refine the

programs to meet the students’ needs. The course Educational Law not only developed my

critical thinking skills to help anticipate legal implications of decisions made both in the

classroom and administratively, but also taught me the skills in applying legal guidance to real

life school issues. By participating in the class debate of Proposal A, I knew its advantages and

disadvantages and how it impacted on Michigan local school district funding. The group action

research about ELL support and assessment provided me the chance of collecting and analyzing

the students’ data which would be beneficial for me to improve the testing environment and

better support my ELL students. All these valuable and informational courses prepared me to be

a transformational leader who can build a school culture and vision to ensure success for every

student in the future.

As I reviewed my internship plan that I worked at two years ago, I am very glad that I

completed most of the activities. I am so lucky to have Mollie Sharrar, the director of curriculum

and instruction at DCS, as my mentor. She refined my internship plan, helped me work through

difficulties and kept me motivated and my spirits up during the two years. With her support and

help, I expanded the Chinese program and served as a member on ELL team at DCS in the past

two years, sat in on Department Chair meetings, observed other teachers’ classes, attended

professional conferences such as MITESOL, MIWLA, etc. and was actively involved in the
parent-teacher conferences and the collaborations with the community. Besides, I interviewed

human resources director, director of technology, foreign language department chair and other

teachers, from whom I learned the important practices of the departments, greatest challenges in

their roles, budget planning, some creative ways to motivate employees non-monetarily, the

methods to make decisions, even the ways to increase emotional intelligence, and how to make

the different school buildings remain on track with their academic goals, After reading the book

The Truth about Leadership, I find what they said and their own experiences are perfectly

aligned with the Truth Three and Truth Four because “all the leaders need a set of values that

guide their decisions and actions” and need to have a broad and forward-looking picture of K-12

education.

In conclusion, the past two years are so rewarding and meaningful for me, which I

believe will change my life forever: my current overall GPA is 4.0; I got my work visa; my

district will sponsor a green card for me and I will graduate successfully this summer... I

remember at the beginning of the first semester, the answers I chose to most of the multiple

choices were “beginning” and “developing” in MI School Leader Standard Student Survey Yr1. I

didn’t know much about these standards, and what I could do to achieve them. Now my answers

to these questions are proficient and exemplary. I believe that’s the progress that I have made

through this amazing program and my internship experience.

Now it’s time to start a new chapter in my life. I spent a great deal of time and energy in

this program. When my kids came and wanted to play with me, I always said, “Go and play with

your dad. Mom is doing homework.” I feel sorry for my children and my husband for not

accompanying them enough but at the same time I feel grateful for their understanding and
support. I know without them, I am not able to dream big and achieve my goals. I am ready to

return to my family and enjoy life with my dear ones.