COMMENTS ON EDUCATIONAL BLOGS
Do you have faith in what you teach?
Do you have faith in what you teach?
When a student asks, " Why do we need to learn this?" it is very important that the teacher actually has faith in her reply.
Why do students need to learn how to use an old-fashioned paper dictionary? I can't think of one valid reason.
Why do students need to learn how to write with a pen and paper? I can think of a hundred good reasons.
How can you teach something, if you don't believe it yourself?
The article Authenticity Matters: 12 Ideas to Make Learning 'Real-World' from teachthought deals with this issue. It answers the question:
How is this lesson relevant to the 'real world'?
The authors provide ideas for making your classroom lessons relevant to the future lives of your students. These ideas include:
- bringing real professionals to the classroom
- asking students to talk to professionals about what they have been studying in class
- asking students to reflect on lessons and to discuss how the skills transfer to the 'real world'.
Any computer that can be replaced by a teacher should be. This is the title of a very heartening blog article by Steve Wheeler. He describes all the qualities that computers lack: emotional intelligence, empathy, appreciation of aesthetics and deviance. Computers can help us with routine stuff BUT
"Teachers won't be replaced by computers because it is nigh on impossible to describe accurately what teachers do. Much is intuitive, creative and unpredictable and cannot be made into neat algorithms."
This all seems obvious but it's nice to hear anyway.
"And because it matters to them, it should matter to us."
This quote is from an article entitled Stop Blaming Social Media from Web 2.0 Connected Classroom. The author believes we should stop blaming social media and teach our kids how to deal with technology. I agree that we should teach out kids how to deal with technology BUT I also think we need to be very critical and educated when it comes to social media.
In regards to television, kids will watch any garbage that is put in front of them. If you show them an educational, well produced series, they will love it. But if you show them poor quality, noisy garbage, they will also watch it. If only teachers could emit that same addictive glare that hypnotises kids to stare at screens for hours.
Adults are responsible for teaching kids how to be intelligent, discerning, critical individuals. This applies to television, literature, music, art and social media.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI removed the first version of my comment because it was too long... the shortened version is below!
DeleteHi Jenny!
ReplyDeleteYour comment about the difference between people and computers reminds me of a quote from Abraham Joshua Heschel. He said, "What we need more than anything else is not textbooks but textpeople." He further wrote, "It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read; the text that they will never forget. The modern teacher, while not wearing a snowy beard, is a link in the chain of a tradition. He is the intermediary between the past and the present as well. Yet he is also the creator of the future of our people. He must teach the pupils to evaluate the past in order to clarify their future. (“Jewish Education,” in The Insecurity of Freedom)". (I found this quote from two other websites: https://prizmah.org/i-am-teacher-i-am-text and https://jewishfutures.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/text-books-and-text-people-posted-by-josh-on-january-31-at-nate-2011/).
When you think about it from an English teacher's perspective, it is the person who can make a piece of text in a foreign language come to life for a student, and that is what people tend to remember. That is, until they can read independently and develop their own critical thinking skills, which we want to help them develop.
Screens with videos can be more captivating than traditional text. Perhaps we can think of computers as a new-aged text. At the same time, computers can link us to real people through communication. There are so many uses for technology.
Just some thoughts. I agree that the role of a teacher is to help students develop their critical thinking skills. It's an important balance - to be open to new ideas, but not too open. Carl Sagan called it "open minded skepticism."
I enjoyed reading your blog!
Hi Jenny.
ReplyDeleteFaith in what we teach may be a guarantee to success. The students are very critical when they listen to the teacher. His goal will be to keep in touch with them and make a strong link for the benefit of the learning. Not only the material is necessary but the way he believes in his role in the classroom and in what he teaches. I have been in many classes in which there is no connection between the teacher and the students, only a waste of time. While, and Elisheva wrote it very well, He is the intermediary between the past and the present as well. Yet he is also the creator of the future of our people. He has a lot of responsabilities and can't neglect the future of his students.
HI Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the comments you made about real-life relative to school. I think it is critical to make it relevant for kids, though I do not have the answers about how to do that all the time. I see you read TeachThought and I do too, finding it quite useful for the most part.
I know that your perspective will engage many students who are lucky to meet you.
mira gefen
Hi Jenny, I really enjoyed reading your blog and how you highlighted the pertinent points of the articles you read. The first article you discussed, really connected with me, in terms of thinking about what we have learned so far, my own experience of education, and how I can improve my own practice in the classroom. Additionally, it also facilitated further thinking for me in terms of how technology can enhance student engagement in lessons.
ReplyDeleteThe article that you discussed from the blog, Teach Thought, mentions the author's suggestions of the importance of reflecting on how lessons connect to real life, and facilitating discussion with students as to how the skills they learn relate to the real world. This made me reflect further of an article from the blog, Endudemic, whereby the author emphasises the importance of ensuring that lessons are meaningful, in order to motivate students to learn. I will certainly aim to incorporate these suggestions into my practice.
Furthermore, thinking in terms of technology in particular, technology can help to be the bridge between the classroom and real life, and I think that it’s therefore, vital that technology is an integral part of lessons and education (rather than an 'add on'), considering that in the 'real world' there is hardly a moment that passes without any of us using technology.
Thank you for writing a thought provoking blog that offers suggestions for improving practice.
I also read the article 'stop blaming social media'. I thought like you that the bombarding of social media should be taken seriously and critically by educators. The approach is to get our kids to understand what is REALLY behind what they watch and educate them to be critical... that in itself is a possible albeit a mammoth task.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteInteresting reads and comments. I appreciate the materials you have chosen to write about and your insights.
Technology today is omnipresent and whether we like it or not, we must implement it in our classrooms and in our lives. I still, though, have a bad after taste when I think about how little personal interaction there is when one is constantly distracted by a 'glow tube'.
Nevertheless, thank you for your interesting blog.