Friday, October 28, 2011

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Educate
I thought this was a great video that really made you evaluate what you do as a teacher, and how you view teaching and educating. This class has opened my eyes. I want to be an educator not a teacher. We should not view our students as empty buckets needing to be filled. We should look at each with qualities and unique characteristics and ideas to contribute to their own education. I want to enlighten and inspire children encourage and empower them to use what they have and do it to the best of their ability. Failure is a part of learning, when you fall you learn what not to do next time. So if we keep them from falling when we can control it they will not know what to do when they fall and we are not there. We don't want to be the extinguisher of the flame but rather the one who kindles the flame. Thanks to this class I see this more profoundly than I did when we first began. Thank you for helping me to see that educating is so much more than teaching. My new passion is to be an educator, a mentor, a inspiration,a guide to any and all students.
kidindesk

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
This was kind of funny when I read it. Was Gertrude for real?? I guess she represents a lot of administration that does not really care about the students but just what their school looks like when the standardized testing scores come back. Please don't even get me started on standardized testing!!!! I think it is crazy to hang that much on a test that every child has to take and count it as 20% of their final grade in that subject at the end of the semester.That does not tell you if the child knows the material by one test that the state sends that the classroom teacher does not even know for sure what it will consist of. Anyway I think Tom Johnson agrees, he calls it the drill and kill test. I don't think that is one of his concerns at all. He cares more about the students and their ability to explore and learn by doing things. He wants it to spill over into the family that they will all have a greater desire to obtain knowledge and understanding. They will explore things together, it is never to late to learn and explore the world of endless opportunities.
hangman

Students are the only ones being hung in this "teaching" world!!

3 comments:

  1. Well done. Interestingly, however, you did not mention anything about pencils in your reflection on Tom Johnson's post. You brought up some really good points he made in his story but did you notice what the pencils symbolized?

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  2. The first video opened my eyes also. I never considered a difference between teaching and educating until now. You're definitely right when you say that our students shouldn't be treated as empty buckets. You can't just fill them up with whatever fits. It needs to be useful and it needs to stick with them. I guess I didn't understand the symbolization of the pencil either. His blogs are always entertaining to me, though. Good job on your post!!

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  3. You missed the metaphor as Jacey-Blair indicated. Pencils are a metaphor for computers or technology. You are not the first. Additional Assignment: Read these three posts:

    1. Metaphors: What They Are and Why We Use Them

    In that post there is a Special Assignment. Do that assignment in a new post which is Additional Post #1. It does NOT substitute for Blog Post #14 as it did in the Spring semester.

    Due midnight Sunday November 20, 2011.

    2. Metaphor Discussion Update

    3. Jennifer Asked: Why Use Metaphors? Here is My Answer

    4. For more information also see:
    You Missed the Point! It's Not A Pencil…"

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