Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Blog Post 10


Do You Teach or Do You Educate?
This video compares and describes teaching and educating. Teaching was described as explaining and giving information. Educate was described as someone who inspires, empowers, and someone who mentors. Often people think that they both mean the same thing. This video helps to show that their is a difference. It also helps me to remember what my roles is as a teacher. While it is my duty to ensure that students have a clear understanding in each lesson it is also my job to also be a mentor to them throughout their learning process.

I intend to educate my students by "Lighting Their Fires". My classroom will be a place of exploring. Talking until I am blue in the face will only become tiresome for me and boring for my students. I want to use tools and experiences in the classroom that makes students excited about learning. It will be a team effort in learning because as everyone discoverers they will be able to share what they learned with others. They will learn from each other. I feel that if students have a part in what they are learning the experience is more meaningful to them. All this will be done not only through my efforts in guiding the students but the student's efforts in being empowered to learn and trusting that their teacher will help guide them to learn the information and skills needed.

pencil


Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home by John Spencer
I first want to point out that I'm not exactly sure who wrote this blog post. On the blog page itself it says that a man by the name of John Spencer owns and writes these blogs. However, in the blog instructions it said that Tom Johnson wrote this. I'm not sure if this was a mistake!??!?

This was a interesting blog post. Although the topic of this blog leads you to believe that students should not take home pencils, the underlying factor is much deeper than that. In Mr. Spencer's blog he is arguing with the school’s curriculum interventionist academic specialist, Gertrude. Gertrude assumed that because statistics had shown that children who brought pencils home had lower standardized test scores, and insisted that Mr. Johnson stop giving his students pencil and paper homework assignments. Mr. Spencer disagrees with her but tries to find a solution that involved meeting with the parents and explaining how pencils could be used for learning.

Ultimately, the problem was not about students having pencil and paper homework, instead it was about what children are doing with them at home. Gertrude is more concerned with the test scores provide for the school rather than being concern if the students are truly learning. I'm not actually sure if it was intended to discuss the use of pencil and paper, as I can also see how this could really relate to computers and technology. Which ever it was intended to discuss, I will say that computers and other technology are replacing textbooks, pencils, and paper in the classroom. If teachers are stuck in the old method of instruction, in today's class, it has made some students bored with what they are learning, hence resulting in poor test scores.

2 comments:

  1. I am so glad that you realize this!!!-"Talking until I am blue in the face will only become tiresome for me and boring for my students." I can tell that you are going to become a wonderful teacher and educational guide!

    John Spencer is the actual person that wrote the post. Tom Johnson is like his "pen name".

    You are right! The post was about the use of computers, not pencils. This was a metaphor that he uses!!

    Great job Jami!

    Stephen Akins

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  2. I, too, want my students to be excited about learning. I agree with your statement, "Talking until I am blue in the face will only become tiresome for me and boring for my students." I always get tired of listening to my teachers lecture, especially if we never do anything with the information except take tests on it. That's no way to learn!

    As Stephen pointed out in the comment above, Tom Johnson is a pseudonym for John Spencer. And his post really is a metaphor--if you take a look around that blog, under the "Navigation" heading on the sidebar, there are links to the cast of his blog and context--why he's writing about pencils instead of flat out writing about technology.

    You did a good job, and I couldn't find a single spelling or grammar mistake--which I can't say for a lot of our other classmates, unfortunately.

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