Pursuing the Pedagogical Dream
Xin Wang
Looking back at my personal statement for admission into the M.A.Ed. program, I maintain the same passion on multicultural education. Having already taught students from around the world in a variety of international contexts, the M.A.Ed. program from Michigan State University provides me a great chance to specialize in post-secondary leadership and leverage my master’s degree to increase the academic level and scope of environments that I am able to positively influence through education.
Before I was admitted by the M.A.Ed. program, I had over ten years of teaching experience with an undergraduate degree in Chinese Language and Literature Education and a certification of teaching Chinese Language and Literature in secondary education in China. I love teaching students with multicultural backgrounds because it has always been fascinating for me to interact with other foreign languages and cultures – me, a Chinese woman, mixing with a multicultural melting pot. My desire to teach and help students who are from multicultural backgrounds became even stronger when I was providing language training at the China Institute of New York City and developing an English language US Civics and Citizenship Preparation program at the New York Chinatown YMCA. I was very grateful that I was accepted by M.A.Ed. program in Michigan State University and after nearly two years of study, I have gained so many pedagogical insights that will help me to keep pursuing multicultural education.
By earning a Master’s of Arts in Education,, I have enrolled in ten intensive courses that included vary topics from the most fundamental Educational Inquire (ED800) and Teaching in Postsecondary Education (ED870) to Teaching across Cultural Differences in Schools (TE991) and how to use Effective Methodology in the Contexts of ESL Students (TE892). These courses helped me to further comprehend the historical, pedagogical and administrative perspectives of multicultural education in K-16 educational settings. I now have a fuller understanding of the roots of multicultural pedagogy and have examined many historic and current educational contents in a global context. The M.A.Ed. study has also guided me to be better equipped to follow the transformative path laid by many educators, activists and scholars in the field of effective K16 education.
Ultimately, the M.A.Ed. program from Michigan State University has helped me to be able to expand on the tools that I have developed over the years in adult and multicultural education, combined with the flexibility to maintain the life and career that I have already developed as a seasoned professional educator. As a matter of fact, by finishing up the Master’s degree, I realize that I still want to explore and study in more depth research in a particular topic – how to implement applied Chinese linguistics to help Adult Chinese Language Speaking (ACLS) learners with more effective learning. In other words, I have been thinking about pursuing a Ph.D. that is focused in Applied Linguistic Chinese to ACLS.
After all, my dream of pursuing a better pedagogy in Applied Linguistic Chinese to ACLS is still going, as the road of pursuit is a life-long learning process. I am enjoying learning and practicing what I have acquired, and yes, I am always seeking more.