WoW! This blog summed up so many of my very own feelings. Morgan just completed her teaching degree in the Spring of 2010. This blog post of hers talked about her feelings of the way in which some classes are taught. She found a video by Dan Brown, a college drop out who focused on the "waste" of going to class. Although he dropped out of school, I think he also made some very valuable key points. Just like her, I also feel cheated out of my time and money after sitting in a lecture class. I sit through class trying to focus on what is being taught, or should I say read off to me from an overhead projector, and think about all the other things I could be doing. I try taking notes, if I can remain awake long enough to, and don't think about them again until right before a test. I remember these notes, take the test, and by the following week, have completely forgotten what it was I supposedly learned. I too buy $100 text books that seem to never be used or at least not used enough to feel I got my $100 worth. So many professors are not teaching but simply going over facts. At the beginning of EDM310, I felt completely overwhelmed. I thought there is no way that I am going to figure all this out. I now find it easier than ever to do things that I didn't even know how to do before this class. Because we live in a technology driven world, I find it easier to learn from hands on experience though the use of technology. Teachers have got to learn to keep up to date with the world around them and can not ever quit learning themselves. The day a teacher quits learning, is the day a student quits learning. As a future teacher, I am making a promise to myself not to ever quit learning and to try and always keep up with the latest use of technology. We are never going to go back in time.......might as well make the most of the time we have now!
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home by Tom Johnson
All I can say about this post is that it is really sad that our students academic achievment is measured by standardized test. I hope that sometime in the very near future that society changes the way they look at how much a child is learning. Some children are just not good test takers....doesn't mean they don't know the material. I think as both a teacher and a student that this is a very unfair policy. Teachers have to be so focused on their class passing state standardized test, that they are not allowed enough time to truely teach their kids. As a future teacher, I sure hope there are some changes that take place, but until then I will try to find a good balance that allows my students the education they deserve while maintaining good test scores on state test.
Abby,
ReplyDeleteMorgan and Dan both do a great job creating an accurate picture of most classes we have taken. I honestly think it is a shame the way the education system works, and as a future teacher, I hope I can help bring about change. You are right that teachers need to continually learn and engage their students. Technology is a great way to do this, and many students, like yourself, learn better through hands on activities. I hope we can all change the education system and actually teach our students.
By the way, I really like your picture!
From Dr. Strange: It seems that you did not understand that Tom Johnspn's post Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home was a metaphor in which pencils were computers. I will complete my post Metaphors: What They Are and Why We Use Them (A Learning Opportunity) later this week. After this post appears on the Class Blog you will be required to leave a comment. Watch the Class Blog for further instructions.
I agree with your opinions about these post. Morgan and Dan both explain how education is not conforming like the rest of the world to technology. It is good that we are being given the opportunity to make a difference in education by learning things in this class that we can carry on to our classroom.
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