Picture this, you are walking through the halls of your high school, the eager young minds of tomorrow are jubilantly strolling to first period. Not a thought crosses their minds except for prioritizing their homework for optimal effectiveness/learning.
This is a pleasant fantasy, however this is not how many schools operate. The average high school student rarely has the luxury of being this care-free in any given school day.
Among the concerns that trouble the youths of today is fashion. What hot new trends to fall into, what to wear to attract that certain someone across the biology lab, what to wear so that I don't look like a total loser.
What if we could eliminate this variable in a high schoolers life. Could we possibly rear a new generation of learners free from the troubles of the trend. What kinds of minds would come out of such a system as this?
I personally believe that a dress code would be a huge asset to educators everywhere. Imagine how much more concentration students could put into their education if the issue of clothing was eliminated. And what about those students that can't afford to keep up with the trends that others can, would they finally be accepted by their peers? How much hate and discrimination could we eliminate by enacting a dress code in public schools? How much could we cut down on cliques, gangs and other inequality among students? I personally would be willing to try anything.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Why do we teach?
Why do we teach?
I believe that the reason that we teach is so that we can impact the youth, and future leaders of tomorrow. We help to teach social skills like interacting with others, as well as critical thinking skills that would otherwise be overlooked.
What is the difference between "school work" and "student learning"?
I believe that there is a huge difference between these two terms. The first implies retaining facts and mentally vomiting them onto an assignment or test at a later date. Student learning, however, is gaining the knowledge and then learning how to apply that knowledge to something in a real-life situation. Student learning requires more than just school work. It requires that we try to keep the students motivated and maybe set the standard just a little out of their reach, lest their work become boring and unfruitful in the end.
What makes for a good teacher?
There are countless things that go into becoming a good teacher. The most important, I believe, is flexibility. Flexibility ties into all aspects of teaching, from energy in the classroom, to assessing your own teaching ability. We must have enough confidence in ourselves to be able to step outside of the safety of the textbook once in a while. We must be flexible in our teaching for our students benefit. No one lesson plan will work for 35 years in a row. We must adapt to the individual needs of each class. A good teacher also used all available means for education in his or her classroom. The teachers that we remember are the ones that made learning fun, either by using technology or just a fun illustration to accompany a lesson. We must be able to follow the ideas that are tried and true, but be able to come up with our own occasionally. We must be willing to break the routine of the school day. Let's face it, kids get bored going from class to class with every period being more boring than the last. We want them to want to be in our classroom, and to do that we must be different, and we must care. Caring is the basis of a good teacher. Be willing to stay after class to help a student, and they will love you for it. Think about what is best for their learning, and you will be a good teacher.
I believe that the reason that we teach is so that we can impact the youth, and future leaders of tomorrow. We help to teach social skills like interacting with others, as well as critical thinking skills that would otherwise be overlooked.
What is the difference between "school work" and "student learning"?
I believe that there is a huge difference between these two terms. The first implies retaining facts and mentally vomiting them onto an assignment or test at a later date. Student learning, however, is gaining the knowledge and then learning how to apply that knowledge to something in a real-life situation. Student learning requires more than just school work. It requires that we try to keep the students motivated and maybe set the standard just a little out of their reach, lest their work become boring and unfruitful in the end.
What makes for a good teacher?
There are countless things that go into becoming a good teacher. The most important, I believe, is flexibility. Flexibility ties into all aspects of teaching, from energy in the classroom, to assessing your own teaching ability. We must have enough confidence in ourselves to be able to step outside of the safety of the textbook once in a while. We must be flexible in our teaching for our students benefit. No one lesson plan will work for 35 years in a row. We must adapt to the individual needs of each class. A good teacher also used all available means for education in his or her classroom. The teachers that we remember are the ones that made learning fun, either by using technology or just a fun illustration to accompany a lesson. We must be able to follow the ideas that are tried and true, but be able to come up with our own occasionally. We must be willing to break the routine of the school day. Let's face it, kids get bored going from class to class with every period being more boring than the last. We want them to want to be in our classroom, and to do that we must be different, and we must care. Caring is the basis of a good teacher. Be willing to stay after class to help a student, and they will love you for it. Think about what is best for their learning, and you will be a good teacher.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Recover Post
Hello all, this is the first post on my blog to date. I am just doing this so I know that I know how. More later.
Andrew
Andrew
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