Reflection:  

My prayer is that every student who attends my classes knows they are loved, that they have purpose, and that I believe in them. My goal is not only to pass along instructional content but to open up a world of possibilities for each student to reach higher academic goals than they believed possible.  I start on the first day of school to teach college readiness and to prepare my students for life outside of their high schoool, their town, and their homes.  Nothing brings me more joy than to have students who tell me they are "bad at science" on the first day of school, fall in love with the content and by the end of the year are excited about pursuing science in college.  Dallas Baptist University has taught me to use instructional strategies to bring out the best in my students and to take into account a student's unique and varied learning style, interests, and to build a classroom community.  The classroom management skills, routines, and procedures that have been taught at DBU have enabled me to run a class smoothly and to be as effective as possible with my given class time.  If I had to narrow down one aspect of my graduate education that has had the highest impact on my teaching career, it would have to be the ability to plan engaging lessons that help to captivate my students attention and to create a lasting curiosity.  As I continue to learn through ongoing continued education and professional development, I pray that I can take the skills that Dallas Baptist University has laid as a strong foundation within the education I have received and be able to bring those skills to students.  One of my future professional goals is to train new teachers and to teach at the college level.  I feel that helping to build a strong educational system that offers a strong foundation in STEM education by equipping teachers and facilitating college readiness as well as critical thinking into the classrooms will help to foster strong students who can operate successfully in a global economy.