I decided to become an elementary education major because I know I work well with kids and I am more than confident I can be a great educator. I questioned if I should be a teacher or not two years ago because I was concerned about the low salary. I know now that is the profession I want to be in. I know I will enjoy my job because I love kids and I would rather make less money enjoying my profession than make more money and be miserable. I have had many teachers make an impact on my life and to me that’s worth more than a ton of money.
This video was ridiculously dramatic in the music but it got the point across. There are many teachers in the country that only teach and don’t educate. That is what we are trying to steer away from. I know I want to be a teacher and I want to be able to educate students. I want to go the extra mile. I want to be the teacher that students feel comfortable to ask any question what so ever, who will inspire them, and whom they feel comfortable around. I not only want to teach students their core subjects, but as well confidence, belief in themselves, and to not be afraid to ask questions.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
I thought the blog post on pencils very humorous and it also sends a great message. As teachers, we should focus on finding a solution rather that meditating on a problem. This gets us nowhere! We can only guide them as much as possible and hope that they use the tools we give them in the most beneficial way. Kids are constantly learning and, believe it or not, kids can teach themselves a thing or two! We cannot go home with the students and make sure they don't visit any non-educational websites and we can't keep them from such a useful tool such as a pencil just because of our fears!
I also agreed with the message it had on standardized testing. So many teachers are worried about test scores rather than the actual learning of a child. In today's school system that is easy to do. Many teachers' jobs depend on their ability to make sure the students learn the test. By only teaching the test teachers may not actually educate their class and the class as a whole may suffer and miss out on many lessons that they need to carry on to the next grade level. This is a sad but realistic system. This makes educators jobs a little harder. We must focus on the child and not the test. I know I will remember this lesson and keep it in mind when I have a classroom of my own.
This is a great post! I had never really thought about the difference between teaching and educating until I watched this video. Hopefully, we will all be educators instead of teachers. I know I have had both and it makes a huge difference. The post about pencils was a little ridiculous, but humorous. It's sad to think about how many teachers actually hold students back because of beliefs such as this. You are right, students can teach themselves a lot if we just let them.
ReplyDeleteYou missed the metaphor. As did Amelia and many others. MANY others.
ReplyDeleteAdditional 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…"