Let me begin by telling you a short story about someone I had the honor of meeting years ago. This woman made me change the way I thought about myself as well as those who work full time while they parent and go to school to better themselves. 

While I was a freshman in college, I lived at home where I was extremely blessed to have my Mom provide a roof over my head and food on the table for me. I did work part time on the weekends and on college breaks but the money I made was definitely not enough to cover all of life's expenses. It was drilled into my head that from an early age that my main job was doing well in school (from elementary to college) and doing well so I could graduate. As I said, I was extremely lucky and God bless my Mom for holding it all together while I was in school!

While attending a night class for my education major, I met a woman who was about ten years older than me. She usually arrived to class about a few moments late and always seemed to be in a hurry. Her work was always complete and when class was over, she would rush out of the room to her car. One night, this woman arrived to class a little earlier that usual and seemed to be a lot more relaxed. She sat next to me and we began to talk before the start of class. This woman was a wife and mother of two school-aged children, with a full time job. She told me that she was able to arrive to class earlier because she didn't have to race home from work to check on her children before going to class. How amazing was this woman!! I told her that I was in awe of all that she did and she informed me that she always had a dream of being a teacher. When things became difficult, she would always refocus and find a way to get closer to her goal. She wanted to prove to her children that life is always going to send obstacles but one needs to set a goal, set up a "plan of attack" to achieve the goal and keep muddling through so the goal is met. Again, I was in total awe of this woman!!! This woman was incredible! Here I am, in a blessed situation where my only concern was my schooling and this woman had to juggle many hats all at once! How did she do this??

This brings me to "Self-Regulated Learning"! What is "self-regulated learning"? This kind of learning is when the student takes an active role in his/her learning. The student uses a cycle of planning, self-monitoring, and reflexion. However, the arrangement of the steps in this cycle can vary, depending on the person and the situation. Barry Zimmerman, a researcher in the field of self-regulated learning, believes that "self-regulation isn’t a mental or academic performance skill. Rather, it’s a self-direction process through which students can transform their mental skills into academic skills".("Self-Regulated Learning: What Is It and Why Is It Important" July 2020). According to Barry Zimmerman "self-regulation consists of applying specific processes selectively to each learning task. These have to be selected on the basis of personal characteristics." ("Self-Regulated Learning: What Is It and Why Is It Important" July 2020). The woman from my story above had to have strength, motivation and determination to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher and to be a good role model for her children. 

Zimmerman believes that the stages of Self-Regulated Learning are as follows: PLANNING STAGE, where the goals or standards are set in place. SELF-MONITORING STAGE, the student compares his/her progress with the goals provided in the planning stage. REFLEXION STAGE, the evaluation of the student's learning experience. It is in this stage that the student reviews the feedback and adjusts for future learning. This brings me to my present life. I am now a full time teacher with a husband and two "fur-babies". My jumped out of my teaching comfort zone when the pandemic surfaced and I was forced to teach online and not in a classroom setting. Let's just say that my students weren't the only ones learning - I was and I became intrigued with the teaching online possibilities. Right before school reopened, I sat down with my sister and talked about how I would like to learn more about online education so here I am. It isn't easy to juggle work, family, home and expenses but I am doing it day by day. I am constantly evaluating my learning and readjusting my goals but I do hope to achieve my goal. 

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"Self-Regulated Learning: What Is It and Why Is It Important" (July 2020). Exploring Your Mind