Cancer Doesn't Change EVERYTHING!
A Reflective Essay by Dawna Kilgore
When I wrote my initial goals statement in August of 2008 I was both scared and excited to start the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. I was scared because it had been 5 years since I had been in the role of student and not teacher and I was excited because I was in need of new skills that would help me to be a better teacher for all of my students. When I began the program the following January, I set out to attain skills that would help me reach and teach the special education students in my inclusive science classroom.
When I began my coursework I had no idea how my life would change less than a year later. Five weeks after my third semester into the Master of Arts in Education program I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and had to put my goals and coursework on hold. Cancer has changed my life in more ways than I can document in a short essay and as I began thinking about writing this essay, I was certain that I would look back at my initial goal statement and that my goals today, would be nothing like the goal I set when I entered the program. To my surprise, I was shocked to realize that there was one aspect of my life that cancer has not changed—my desire to reach and teach all students in my classroom, including the special education students that I serve on a daily basis.
As I near the end of the Master of Arts in Education program it is still my goal to work hard at reaching and teaching the special education students in my classroom. I struggle daily with how to meet the needs of a small population of my students. The demands on any classroom teacher are tremendous and meeting the needs of special education students is a demand that I am constantly working at. Having completed most of my coursework I feel that I can now come to my classroom and these students with proven strategies that I can use to help them succeed. Have I reached this goal? No I have not, but I do feel that I have acquired skills and tools that I can use for years to come.
When I wrote my initial goals statement in August of 2008 I was both scared and excited to start the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. I was scared because it had been 5 years since I had been in the role of student and not teacher and I was excited because I was in need of new skills that would help me to be a better teacher for all of my students. When I began the program the following January, I set out to attain skills that would help me reach and teach the special education students in my inclusive science classroom.
When I began my coursework I had no idea how my life would change less than a year later. Five weeks after my third semester into the Master of Arts in Education program I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and had to put my goals and coursework on hold. Cancer has changed my life in more ways than I can document in a short essay and as I began thinking about writing this essay, I was certain that I would look back at my initial goal statement and that my goals today, would be nothing like the goal I set when I entered the program. To my surprise, I was shocked to realize that there was one aspect of my life that cancer has not changed—my desire to reach and teach all students in my classroom, including the special education students that I serve on a daily basis.
As I near the end of the Master of Arts in Education program it is still my goal to work hard at reaching and teaching the special education students in my classroom. I struggle daily with how to meet the needs of a small population of my students. The demands on any classroom teacher are tremendous and meeting the needs of special education students is a demand that I am constantly working at. Having completed most of my coursework I feel that I can now come to my classroom and these students with proven strategies that I can use to help them succeed. Have I reached this goal? No I have not, but I do feel that I have acquired skills and tools that I can use for years to come.