Continuing Exploration Through Education
A
Future Learning Essay by: Bradley John Gagnon
When I close
a chapter in my education with the Commencement Ceremony in the Breslin Student
Events Center at Michigan State University on Friday, May 4th, 2012, I will be
awarded a Master of Arts Degree in Educational Technology. As the
day approaches, I contemplate the event,
and the meaning of the word "commencement." To "commence" does not mean to end,
but to begin, and with the acceptance of my degree I will not be ending my
educational journey, but beginning a new chapter in which exploration,
learning, and sharing knowledge will continue.
This journey
will now evolve to take on a different form as I turn the corner from
Educational Technology to Kinesiology. While
I will be graduating in May with a Master of Arts Degree in Educational
Technology, I will need eighteen credits to complete my Master of Science in
Kinesiology. For me, the two subjects
blend perfectly with one another, as my focus is upon integrating internet
video technology with martial arts instruction.
The two are also very different, and this is evident in the two types of
degrees, "Master of Arts," and "Master of Science."
A large
part of my work in Kinesiology is based on research, in which I am beginning to
take part. This aspect of my Kinesiology
Degree is a part of education that I know little about, but I am looking
forward to learning and contributing whatever I can. I have ambitions of being published in a peer-reviewed
scholarly journal, and I hope to write and eventually be lucky enough to accept
grants and external funding.
I will
also be taking more graduate level courses that will benefit the students that
I have taught for the past five years, and will continue to teach well into the
future, through the UACOR Taekwondo Program in Spartan Village at Michigan
State University. Courses such as KIN
857, "Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport," and KIN 866, "Research on Sports for
Athletes with Disabilities," will give me tools that I can use in every
class that I teach. The classes that I
take as well as those that I teach will propel me further on my educational
journey. One of many memorable lessons
taught in Taekwondo is, "to teach is to learn twice." After completing my Master of Science Degree in
Kinesiology over the next few semesters, I hope to be fully prepared to begin
yet another chapter in my educational journey: the Educational Technology
Ph.D.
I believe
that I am an excellent candidate for acceptance into the Educational Technology
Ph.D. Hybrid program here at Michigan State University, and when I have
completed my degree in Kinesiology I will be yet another step ahead of other
applicants. During the semesters in
which I am taking Kinesiology classes, I will also be preparing all required
documents and paperwork in order to apply to the program. This program is a natural progression from
the work I have done which precedes it, and it is also organized in a
"hybrid" schedule that will allow me to fulfill outside obligations,
such as teaching TKD, while I continue to make progress in my educational
journey.
Beyond the Ph.D., I see myself
continuing my educational journey for my lifetime, in much the same way as I
will always be a student and teacher of Taekwondo. This kind of outlook and philosophy is based
not on reaching a destination, but instead on daily perseverance and progress
through training and education. As a lifelong student, the subjects I am
studying are very diverse and varied.
While I am studying certain subjects inside the classroom, such as
Kinesiology, Taekwondo, and Lifeguarding, I am also studying subjects trough
less traditional methods, such as Educational Technology, which has been a combination
of on-line and hybrid courses. There are
also other subjects which I continue to learn about through my own investigations
into resources such as books, websites, and knowledgeable friends. I have recently become the proud owner of a
nineteen foot cabin cruiser inboard motor boat, so I have learned much about
boat maintenance, etiquette on the water, and nautical navigation. I also am lucky to have a close friend who is
a brew master, and he has agreed to take me under his wing and allow me to brew
with him on a regular basis, so that I might learn all I can about the
trade.
In my
future, I see myself growing as a person, and the subjects I will study as well
as the methods available will also
change with time. When I am 50 years
old, I can see myself learning about converting my vehicles to run on
alternative fuel, and when I am 90 I can envision the necessity of learning how
to exist within virtual reality for extended periods of time. Hopefully, I will also have reliable sources
from which to draw information, just as I do today, in the form of friends, teachers,
literature, websites, and other electronic methods.