Spalding 1

Jessica Spalding
EDA 450
Sr. Grodin
16 November 2015
Disposition Essay
Over the course of my seven years here at Lourdes University, I have had many experiences
relating to the Lourdes values of learning, reverence, and service. The way that these values
coexist within the program have proved to change my outlook on education as a career and see
that there is truly more to becoming a successful teacher than simply knowing the content and
theories associated with education.
The first value, learning, reflects not only the desire to foster a sense of lifelong learning within
students, but to also remain a lifelong learner. When I have first entered into the education
program, my understanding of the value stemmed simply from a dictionary definition for the
word. Learning was the process of gaining new information, nothing more. Over the course of
my time spent at Lourdes I began to realize that this was just a surface definition and that
learning is so much more. The value of learning does not just cover knowledge, but the ability to
make use of such practices. During my student teaching experience at Perrysburg, I had the
opportunity to participate in an assessment literacy workshop. This workshop put into
perspective how teachers create testing questions for student. With this knowledge I began to
analyze not only the questions that I wrote, but also the directions that I was giving my students
for answering these questions. The workshop provided the necessary resources on writing
effective questions that my students would not only understand but would also be challenged on
a deeper level. I believe that this is the main goal for learning. That when we provide the basic

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knowledge, we then give students the opportunity to apply it on a deeper level, creating a sense
of leadership in their learning.
The second value, reverence, is the ability to create a learning environment that promotes the
diversity of students through a caring and positive classroom. This has been a value that I have
had throughout my life, but I believe that throughout my time spent at Lourdes, I have been able
to refine the value and find an understanding of what it truly means to provide this in the
classroom. In order for students to be successful, they need to be in a classroom that provides a
safe and caring environment. During my student teaching, I have been actively striving to
provide a classroom based on reverence. This required me to get to know my students by more
than just a name. One day, a student came into my classroom and was not acting like she
normally did. Because I took the time to get to know her, I knew that something had to be wrong,
leading into a conversation on how she was having a bad day at school. It is important to foster
these kinds of relationships with students because it not only supports a positive learning
environment where students feel safe expressing their concerns, but it also helps students to
understand the idea of community. As a community, it is important to help each other through all
types of situations, big or small. I believe that reverence is also present when a teacher contacts a
parent about their child. I had a student who was missing assignments and failing tests. I was
concerned about the progress of the student, so I sent an email home. I have been in contact with
the student's parent for a few weeks and the student has since started to work during the writing
lab on a regular basis without being asked to come down. Because of the caring and positive
learning environment created for the student, he now has the courage to voice when he needs
help.

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The last value, service, is the call to aid others. Since high school, I have believed that God has
called me to be a teacher and share not only my knowledge of content and life, but to make sure
that the interests of the students are being upheld within a classroom. I know from personal
experience that not all teachers are worthy of this title. I had a teacher in high school that would
give us a page out of the textbook to complete and then busy himself with tasks not related to our
class or even the school. It has been teachers like him that have helped confirm my decision to
enter the field of education. Students need to have an environment where the sole focus is to
make sure that they succeed and are prepared for the next stage of their life. for my students this
would be college or the workforce. While every teacher hopes to make an impact on the lives of
students, I believe that if over the course of my career that I make an impact on the life of just
one student, then I have succeed at my calling.
In conclusion, I believe that all of the Lourdes values work together; that one value is not more
significant than the other. It is important for a teacher to provide an atmosphere that fosters
education and lifelong learning, a positive and safe classroom for students, and to demonstrate
the desire to want to make a difference. Over the course of my time spent in the education
program at Lourdes, my value of learning has changed, but my values of reverence and service
have stayed relatively the same. I believe that my idea of reverence and service have stayed the
same because these were two of the main reasons that I entered the field of education. I hope that
as I continue on this journey I will continue to refine and deepen my understanding for these
values, because I know that no matter where life takes me, these three values will stick with me
forever. It not simply the desire to be a better teacher it is the desire to be a better human being.