The Unexpected Journey: A Story of Academic Success
So this is it. This is the end result of my formal academic experience. The culmination of all the hard work, the dedication, and the keyboard induced finger cramps. This is that time, I did it; I have achieved a Master of Arts in Education Degree (MAED) from Michigan State University! It hasn’t really sunk in yet. Granted there are a few more assignments to finish up; a polish here, a shine there, but all and all this is it. This is the moment that I have been waiting for and working towards since my first day of university, even if at the time I didn’t know it yet.
When you look at historic tales of exploration and discovery, fictitious or not, they all start with a clear and defined end goal. A victory to achieve, a maiden to save, an internal awakening of enlightenment reached only through the arduous conquests on the way to a journeys end. That’s the way these things work. First you start with a clear objective, and then you follow it up with a definitive game plan in which to achieve this objective in the most efficient and statistically successful way possible. That’s the way to do it; that’s how it’s always done; I mean come on, that’s just the stuff of good stories. So naturally that’s the way I began my first day of university, with a clear outlook of what my educational and professional future would have in store for me, including an itemized mental list of how to triumphantly navigate the choppy scholastic and corporate waters that inevitably lie ahead…Ha, I had you going there for a second didn’t I! The actual story of how I clumsily fell from there to here is far less romantic, and frankly couldn’t have been further from planned or successfully organized.
Let me just start you off with this; Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute. That’s right; I started my post high school educational journey on my way to becoming a chef. The hat, the jacket, the checkered pants, the ascot; I was hitting the ground running. But there was just that one thing, “I couldn’t cook!” So with no plan, no idea, and frankly no clue what I had gotten myself into, I attempted to embark on the prestigious road to executive chef-hood. Needless to say, while I currently hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Science Education it is safe to assume that the culinary path was not the one for me. But that’s okay, clearly this speed bump amongst the educational asphalt was put there to realign my direction and point me down the straight unchanging road to my degree. Yea, no.
So what happened next, you may ask yourself? Did I realize the error in my ways, align my sights toward a more appropriate professional field, and pursue this career in a university through carefully chosen specialized instruction; no, I opened a tattoo shop.
You may be asking yourself at this point, “What do any of these bizarre, sporadic, and quite frankly fictitious sounding attempts at a life story have to do with a Master’s degree in Education?”; oddly enough, everything. This synthesis essay is meant to do just that, synthesize or fuse together all the elements that contributed to the achievement of this prominent title. So for you to fully understand what this degree means to me and how it has helped shape my personal and professional life, you first need to know me and my story.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Samuel Ansaldi. I was named after one of three incredibly industrious great uncles who were born to this country through the parents of Russian immigrants. Raised in an all Italian section of New York, this Hungarian speaking threesome taught themselves the language of their neighbors and built an industrial empire from the ground up, and all with nothing more than a 5th grade education.
My father is a longtime musician who began his career in the professional spotlight at the age of 13. Playing the New York jazz circuit alongside fellow musicians well into their 40’s, this barely teenage musical wonder went on to entertain crowds in numerous countries on multiple continents. He made it to grade 10.
My mother was the only one that continued her educational journey past high school. A brief stint in the Boston Conservatory of the Arts and a post-child career choice to pursue her passion through the New England Culinary Institute, led her to a very successful career as an Executive Chef, creating gastronomic masterpieces at 5-star restaurants from the southern tip of the Florida coastline to the snow covered peaks of Colorado’s mountainside. All of these amazing role models achieved their professional dreams, and they did so with little more than gumption and elbow grease. So in my eyes, what was the benefit of spending more time in school when you can clearly just jump into the working world and create a future with the sweat from your brow and the strength of your will. This was the question that I had been repeatedly asking myself, and the answer was because it’s not the 1950’s anymore; man, I wish someone had told me that earlier.
For the sake of time let’s skip ahead. September 2005; I had just begun interning in the Environmental Education department at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, and was entering my first semester at Southern Connecticut State University, part-time, in pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Keep in mind that I went into university (J&W Culinary Institute) directly out of high school. That was in 1997. It was now 8 years, and multiple entry level jobs later, and the only thing that kept going through my head was, “What have you gotten yourself into?” I came from a family of artists and musicians, Vaudevillian performers and “Plan B” experts; I had no business going to university. “I’m too old”, “It’s not in my blood”, “Why even bother”; it’s amazing the amount of excuses that run through your mind when you attempt to talk yourself out of something just because it might be new, or out of your comfort zone. Despite the uncertainty with my current academic situation, I was in; I had done it. I had made up my mind to achieve something that few in my family ever aspired too. I was going to get my degree. Equipped with the beginnings of a life changing career, a modest pay check, and an apartment 70 miles away with decomposing hay insulation and an original 1700’s crumbling field stone foundation, I was on my way to making a professional life for myself, and little did I know that the best was yet to come.
You could see her from across the room; she was impossible to miss. Blue eyes like a cloudless sky with a smile that awoke the morning sun. At the time, the scope of my vision extended merely beyond the boundaries of the golden blond light of her hair as it draped over the soft features of her face. If I had only known of the adventure that lay before me in the months to come; the inspiration, the confidence, the drive and the unwavering belief of a brilliant woman who I am now exceedingly proud to call my wife.
Have you ever been on a roller coaster? It starts out slow, there are twists, there are turns, and then you begin this arduous everlasting ascent. It’s scary, it makes your stomach turn, and frankly at times you just want to get off; and then you reach the top; the summit, the peak, the crescendo; and then nothing. Your hair flies back, your eyes widen, and an uncontrollable sensation in your face forces a smile or even an exuberant squeal. Everything you have done up to this point has brought you to this moment. The wave has broken and the force of the momentum is cataclysmic. All of your doubts and all of your fears get taken by the wind as you steam unstoppably into an unknown future with purpose and assurance. For me this unknown future…was Michigan!
Michigan not only provided the opportunity for my wife to pursue her academic aspirations in the form of a Master of Science degree from Michigan State University (MSU) in Animal Behavior and Welfare, but it allowed me to finish my Bachelor of Arts degree at Olivet College in the discipline of Biology accompanied by multiple Dean’s List accolades. It also provided me with the confidence to pursue a Master’s degree of my own, a feat that no one in the history of my direct family ever dreamed of. MSU became my virtual schoolyard during this journey; and a very guiding and accommodating schoolyard at that. I had enrolled into MSU’s Master of Education Degree (MAED) program, but I wasn’t a teacher. I didn’t work in a classroom; I didn’t have a desk; and my professional attire is about as far away from a suit and tie as you can get. I am an Environmental Educator at a provincial conservation authority. So how could a program that caters to the business of standardized tests and multiple choice problems benefit me at all? Well, I can tell you, in more ways than I could ever imagine.
My MAED program at MSU opened up my eyes to learning styles and educational approaches that extended far past the brick and mortar walls of traditional academic institutions; they broadened my outlook on the true meanings of learning. One class that will forever stand out in my mind is EAD 860 Concepts of a Learning Society. Put simply, this class attempted to delve deeper into the idea of a global community of free learners. This wasn’t education in the way that I knew it. This was learning, true learning. A world motivated by thinkers, guided by scholars, and inhabited by those with a thirst, a lust for education. Concepts of a Learning Society looked at learning from all angles and aspects. How do we learn in school vs. how we learn at home? Does the learning dynamic of a classroom change as we make our way up the scholastic ladder? What environmental factors, currently and historically, shape the way we view learning, and the institution of education as a whole? This class looked at education biologically, socially, culturally, and economically. It provided me with ideas of teaching outside of a traditional academic institution that highly benefit the diversity of demographics that our organization caters too. It was a pleasure and an invaluable experience to be part of a class of this caliber.
Now, EAD 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry followed this approach with its take on the idea of inquiry based learning. This class historically put the facets of inquiry into an integrative chronological approach to learning throughout time. “How and why did formal education begin”, “who were the pioneer motivators of this movement”, “what was their message, and how have their original aspirations been translated into modern educational practices”? This class taught you to look at inquiry as an entity all its own. Educational inquiry is not limited to the students sitting behind a desk. It is a primary factor of how we teach, what we teach, and the pedagogical methodologies behind our delivered information. An assignment that captured this idea in its totality had to do with the film “Whale Rider”, which is based on the novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera. There is a scene in which the Maori elders have decided that in addition to their children's/grandchildren's modern educational teachings, they must learn in the traditional ancient ways of their ancestors in order to resurrect the power of a culture lost to the tides of progress. Our objective was to transport ourselves to that moment in time and describe the situation around us from the point of an outsider looking in. It was a lesson in displacement; a way to view educational inquiry and learning practices through a new set of eyes. Leaving behind the ideals that we view as essential, and opening ourselves up to lessons of equally great significance inspired by the traditional history of cultures not of our own. There is nothing linear about how, why, or what we as humans learn throughout the course of our lifetimes; this class is the true embodiment of that design.
I can honestly say that throughout this process each class that I have participated in was the product of careful consideration and expert administrative guidance. They each catered to my specific educational goal of non-traditional teachings within the realm of science education, and thus each made their mark on my journey of knowledge acquisition. But as with all experiences there are those that just seem to stand out amongst the crowd; for me that we TE 818 Curriculum in its Social Context.
A well laid curriculum is the cornerstone of modern education. It sets forth the intricate path toward the achievement of a selected learning goal. Without an expertly thought out curriculum the pedagogical delivery of educational information translates into nothing more than the garbled ranting of disconnected facts. But how do we determine what constitutes this priceless doctrine of informational comprehension; is it affected by outside elements that contribute to its character and structure, and if so which ones, and how? Questions like this made up the core of Curriculum in its Social Context. From the historical beginnings of curriculum development by John Dewey, to educational modeling generated by current environmental crises, this class showed you how curriculum translates into, and is influenced by every aspect of modern society. It’s interesting really; we all come from different backgrounds, each with a unique story to tell, but most of us stay with what we are familiar with throughout or live, never straying from the path of comfort. We rarely have the opportunity to address, or chime-in on an issue that is outside of our societal or economic realm, let alone from the perspective of those that it directly affects. However, this class provided us with that very chance. We were to participate in a “quasi-case study” in which we all played different roles of individuals affected by the possibility of our financially compromised public school system being dissolved and turned into a private charter. Participants were to take on the persona's of the schools administrate staff, teaching team, student body, and parental figures. We each had to write a letter to the superintendent (who was in need of making a decision himself/herself about the future of the school) in response to the course of action he/she had decided upon regarding the direction of our educational facility. It allowed us to look inside and see what we would actually do if we were put in a difficult situation such as this. Such as in life, this situation had no definitive “bad guys and good guys”, there wasn’t one easy answer to fix the wrongs plaguing this school, but we had to answer, so we did. With each carefully crafted “email” all of the participants made their case. Some ideologies conflicted, while others symbiotically joined forces without ever even meeting. This was an opportunity to see mankind at work, to view how different societal, cultural, and economic upbringings can influence a decision such as this. It was the reason that we were all taking this class. It was the embodiment of its message. It was meaningful.
It has been 18 years since the first step of this journey has begun. I have excelled in a career that I am passionately devoted too, found someone to share my life with that challenges and inspires me at every turn, and achieved not one but two post-secondary degrees in a discipline I love from institutions I am proud to call my alma mater. I have achieved more than I could ever have imagined. So even though this essay is meant to represent the culmination of my goals and achievements, I rather think of it as a well built foundation for a new beginning. My name is Samuel Ansaldi, and this is what I have achieved; I wonder what I will do tomorrow.