Do you have Allies? Learning to Identify Allies

Entry One:

This year I have established not only many lasting friendship but also many allies. I learned that it is best to find someone that you can go to or identify with in each of your classes. When you have people who can help you or work through things with you it makes the load a whole lot easier to carry.
Earlier, I explained that I have been participating in a Math Study group. My group has been a very big support system when it comes to Math. We work through our struggles together. We support each other, laugh through our frustration, and even celebrate together when we finally understand something we've been struggling with.
In my physics class I have allied myself with the assistant in the class. Steven Cress is a student at Goshen who is majoring in Physics. He has helped me so much because I am definitely not a great science student. He has guided me through tough homework problems. It is really great to know that I have someone who knows what I am struggling with.
Some of my friends and I are in Bible 100. We decided that we would form a sort of study/homework group so that we can work together to better understand.
Through my many groups and allies I have learned how important it is to find individuals that you can go to for help. I learned that when I get into the teaching field I am going to need to people to support me. I am going to need people who know what they are doing to go and talk with them, to bounce ideas off of. By learning now that I need to find people to work with and help me it makes it easier to go out into the work field.
I have also identified an ally in my best friend Melissa. She just graduated with a degree in Elementary and Special Education. I look to her for support, advice, wisdom, and a listening ear. She takes the time to offer up solutions and allows me to talk through situations within my life or in my teaching. Identifying peers who are going through some similar situations can really help you in your profession. I count on Melissa to hear about her life and her teaching and to listen to mine.


Entry Two:

Along with my peers I have also identified allies in my profession. I have become very close with a high school teacher back home in Pennsylvania. Carolyn Woodford has been a friend of the family for many years and talks with me about some of her struggles with special education and inclusion and gives me a different view of how general education teachers are feeling. I also talk with her about my experiences and get advanced from her as a mom of a 7 year old. I have also met many academic contacts over the years my professors at Goshen: Christie Bonfiglio and Kathy Meyer-Riemer. Throughout my placements: Jen Drescher - Chamberlain Elementary, Mary Genovese - Eastwood Elementary, Kevin Beveridge - Eastwood Elementary, Emma Dugger - Eastwood Elementary, Kathy Heyse - Oxbow Elementary and Liz Kieling - Daly Elementary. These are just some of the academic contacts I have made in the past years and I know that there will be many more to come. I believe that it is very important to have peers that you can identify with as well as professional contacts.