At the end of that week, I made the decision to enter a doctoral program with the goal of finishing my professional career in higher education. During the intervening years, I became an elementary school principal. Finally, in May of 1999, while serving children and teachers as an elementary principal and with the solid support of my husband, Paul , my children, and my extraordinary dissertation committee, I walked across the stage to receive my diploma and hood. In August 1999 I was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Education at this fine school. With work, dedication, and support, dreams do come true.
Effective educators are, by their very nature, dreamers.
We dream about making a difference, dream about change, dream about education powerfully impacting the direction of our students' lives. I believe that in its purest form our profession is dedicated to promoting change and growth within our students and ourselves. To realize our dream, teachers of the 21 st century must have solid and growing knowledge of their field, know what effective teaching is, and have well-developed communication skills. They must know how to live and work in a collaborative community, develop a variety of sound instructional strategies, understand assessment, and know the characteristics of the age group they are teaching. They must be effective classroom managers, work from a solid philosophical base, work from the heart, and continually reflect on their personal and professional growth.