Blog Post #9

Image via WikipediaI once had a nightmare where I was one of Jaw's victims and the camera was angled under the water from the point of view of the shark. I heard the chilling dum-dum, dum-dum, dumdumdumdum, duuuuuuum as the shark edged closer and closer to my kicking legs and then suddenly...I wasn't in the water anymore and instead of a shark...there were high schoolers.

And I was the teacher about to be bitten in half. Shrieeeeeeeek!

Needless to say, that dream terrified me for a day or two, and I thought about changing my major until I realized those kids couldn't possibly catch me on land. I'm a pretty fast runner when confronted with shark-people.

Anyway, when I read Mr. McClung's blog post about his first year teaching, I had another flashback to that nightmare, only it wasn't as terrifying as I had remembered. Since that awful night and two days following it, I've come to the realization that often my fears are unfounded.

All the silly fears that plague me are often just that--silly. I'm not going to say that I'm not a little worried about if I will do a good job of teaching those future students what they need to succeed and move on in their lives, but I can agree that Mr. McClung's discoveries are some that all teachers have to make at some point or another.

Control is just an illusion.

As someone with plenty of experience trying to control everything in her own life, I can tell you that being in control does not mean you're being productive or making yourself or anyone else happy. In fact, you might just be doing more harm than good.

If you expect too much out of someone--least of all yourself--you will always end up disappointed with the outcome. That's no way to live life, much less teach. Mr. McClung is right; no one is perfect, not even ourselves. So how can we expect our students to get everything right if we don't adjust our expectations for their successes to reasonable goals?

Truth? We can't. Sometimes if expectations are set too high, people don't even bother trying. It's a fact.

One of my biggest fears deals with my students not listening to me. I fret that I won't be heard or that somehow I'll start speaking in tongues in the middle of a lesson and never know it. (Fortunately, I think that last one might have also been in a dream, so it's possible it might never happen. Right?)

Yet, even as I worry about not being heard, I remember what it was like being a student--it wasn't that long ago, although it feels like forever--and that same fear pervaded my thoughts back then. Will my teacher hear me? Will what I have to say be heard?

Mr. McClung stresses communication and listening, as do I, because those things are vital in the two-way street that is education. Sure, it would be cool if students were capable of hearing something once and able to regurgitate it back whenever they needed to. Realistically however, we know that never happens, and if it did, it would be like an episode from The Twilight Zone and that poor kid might end up in a laboratory somewhere in Area 51. (Geez, I'm dramatic today.)

As teachers, we have to be willing to listen to our students and to adapt our teaching practices to better suit their needs. I think that of all the professions in the world, teachers should be foremost in adaptability and innovation. Apple should be coming to us for cool ideas for projects. We should be the ones making executive decisions on committees or lounging in the Oval Office. (Yes, I am saying that an educator should run for president. Who else thinks this is a good idea?)

Education is a field that is steeped in learning, at least last I checked, and as such, it means educators have an obligation to stay at the forefront of not only subject matter relevant to students, but also technology that is currently in use. It's not only beneficial in keeping the teachers up to date on trends and student concerns, but also keeps education from being dated. This goes back to Mr. McClung's first point about reading the crowd. You have to know what is effective and what isn't in order to get through to people, and to make the lessons "student centered."

It's the 21st century people. Time to up the ante. We don't have all century to be where we should be already. Just saying.

Blog Post #3

Image by Getty Images via @daylife1. Discrepancies between what we think and what we know happen every day. College is no different. The harsh reality exists and the video A Vision of Students Today shows that reality quite poignantly. Books that we never use cost us a fortune and we can only sell them back for about half-price. Meal plans we barely use are required. Price hikes in tuition, but no increase in the scholarships. Here's an article I found about the tuition bubble.   Something doesn't seem right about those things. Maybe it's just me. Yeah, sure, I'm lazy at times. Sometimes, I don't pay attention in class. I spend most of my time either writing, reading, or on the internet. But I get stuff done and do I get any credit for that? No.

But the real problem I believe lies in the way things are arranged. Education has slacked to the point where we, the students, are waiting for it catch up. The lack of technology and innovation is holding us hostage in the past. We still have chalkboards in every room. Some rooms have a smart board, but the only times I've seen it used as anything other than a projector for a PowerPoint was in Dr. Strange's class. We want to move to the brighter future, but we can't if we aren't given the chance. That video is almost an anthem of our generation. It's a testament to how things will continue if we don't change. Personally, I don't know how to make the video more of an impact than it already is. I felt an instant connection to the message with just the simple texts and subtle music. Maybe if they had some people saying their messages? I don't know. I like it the way it is. Sometimes simpler is better. You don't get swept up in the special effects and completely miss the point.

2. In her blog post, It's Not about the Technology, Kelly Hines makes a valid point. Without solid teaching skills and a desire to learn as well as teach kids to learn, technology would be a useless tool. It's like giving a toad a computer. Well, maybe not a toad, but you get my point. And Mrs. Hines' as well. Technology isn't the solution to every problem. It can't "fix" anything without first breaking a few old habits. And you know what they say about those: they die hard.

Yeah, it's going to be difficult, but I think if the learning community can step up and work as a unit, we can devise some methods of implementing a new way of teaching. A way of teaching that will be viable in the years to come, and not outdated as the current way has proven to be. Here's the link that Mrs. Hines also included in her post to 21st Century site. It's very interesting, I've already briefly checked it out.

3.  "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." Karl Fisch
That quote, while he disclaims it to be slightly "extreme", is something that should be considered heavily. What does the future hold for teachers who aren't technologically literate? Will they even be able to teach? Fisch discusses these questions very succinctly in his blog post Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? I found his approach to be quite insightful and his comment that I listed at the beginning of my response is central to his stance. With the way society is advancing toward a hands-free and plugged-in future, it is nearly impossible for a teacher to remain on the outside of advancement. Doing so will result in a major imbalance in the classroom, with students knowing more about how the world really works than the teacher. Is that something that is desirable? I think not.

Teachers are supposed to be on the cutting edge of education, and to be willing to update their own methods to incorporate new ideas and ways of teaching. If not, such a teacher that refuses to run with the rest of the pack will die out and find that they no longer become applicable or needed at their post. We are past the age where the only tools a teacher needs are his chalk, books, and knowledge. These days require a substantial widening of experience and tools that, quite frankly, I feel will make the learning experience not only more enjoyable for the students who are accustomed to the new technology, but also for the teacher, who will find that using the things available to them opens many more doors of actually reaching the students.

4. Wow. That's all I could say while I watched the numbers increase without bound. How can there even be that many people doing all of that? How can the internet be so vast? I just can't wrap my brain around it. The massiveness of technology is overwhelming. I could almost picture a small percent--maybe only 0.0000001%--of those downloads, uploads, calls, texts, messages, emails, posts, videos, and comments being my future students or the siblings of my future students or the parents. How can what I have to teach them compete with all of that? It can't. I don't see how.

I think though, that if I could somehow incorporate all of those things, or at least a small percentage, I could make my lessons more applicable in a way. But again, how? At this point, I haven't a clue, but I'm going to figure out a way. I have to. I don't want to become one of those teachers that Fisch mentioned and in that way become outdated. That won't be my fate.

5. The video, Technology in the Classroom, that Brooke Broadus posted was interesting and brought up some good points about why technology is important and should be considered when teaching. It's not good to be afraid to use technology, because that just leads to a deficiency in the classroom. Students are already using it at home and with friends, and when they come to school, it is somewhat disconcerting for them to be thrust into an environment that does not implement technology to its fullest.