Hearing their personal opinions on what is most valuable in education has helped me think about what I find most valuable in becoming the teacher I I wish to become. I realized that I appreciate the students the most. They are the factor that changes every lesson plan and they are the ones who change the requirements of my class. So, it is how I interact with students that becomes the determining factor of the type of teacher I should become. I was talking with a friend the other day and he was telling me about his experience riding a horse for the first time. He remembers that it was while he was on horseback, weaving through neighbors' yards and through the streets (they transported the horse inexpensively to his pasture 5 miles away) that he realized that there was no way he was ready to ride that horse until he saddled it and took the risk. Life is like that in many ways, as plans change and people come in and out of your life. We can never be fully prepared for the type of experiences we will face in the future, but we can have an agenda that defines who we want to aspire to be. We have the power to act so that we can act rather than be acted upon. We can achieve excellence and furthermore help others, including students, to achieve as well