Did you Know? By Dr.
Scott Mcleod
What an amazing video. It is apparent that technology is
constantly changing. The educational system is constantly playing as I term “catch
up”. Teachers need to be the leaders and find ways to incorporate technology
into the classroom. With today’s economy budget is certainly an issue, but
teachers need to work together to become creative and find ways around the
budget crisis. This action of unity will highly benefit our students for years
to come.
Are we doing what is best
for our students, or are we doing what is most convenient for us?
It is the assumption of the community that schools and
teachers strive to provide the best for their students. If teachers do what is
best for their students, then their students will excel. When teachers find it
convenient to do things the traditional way, then students are in my opinion
given the short end of the stick. There are many teachers who have become
comfortable over the years and don’t see a need for change. They may ask themselves,
why change when what I have been doing has been working. Would we want our
doctor to stop attending professional seminars and rely on out of date medications.
If we demand this need for growth from other professions, then we should demand
this for ourselves. We are professionals too.
I do not want to discredit the teachers out there who are
trying to put their students first. I just believe that there are not many
teachers in the educational system who show this kind of determination for
improvement. All my classmates in Dr. Kelvin Thompson technology for educator’s
course are here to expand on their knowledge to provide their students or
current students with the best. We are all headed in the right direction and
look forward to the journey ahead of us. What is it that stops teachers who
showed so much passion and a need for change in the beginning, to just become
comfortable?
The National Council on Teacher Quality is an organization
that promotes the need to increase the amount of effective teachers nationwide.
This organization was created when Michelle Rhee the superintendent of
Washington D.C. fired low performing educators within her district. This served
as a wake- up call that teacher quality is demanded. I encourage you to visit
this website http://transfer.sdes.ucf.edu/.
Let’s stand together and be the voice of our students. Let’s
lead by example and encourage others to follow. Marianne Williamson said it
best “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure”.
"If we demand this need for growth from other professions, then we should demand this for ourselves. We are professionals too."
ReplyDeleteGreat statement! I think as teachers we can forget that we are also professionals and need to act like that. We have one of the most important jobs out there, we are educating the people that will be the leaders of our country one day, the people who are making the laws and will shape how our country will grow. With all the "slack" teachers get about why we are in the field, the weekends and summers off, teachers need to step up their game. And don't get me wrong I absolutely think there are teachers in classrooms right now that are only there for the weekends, summers, and holidays off, but the majority of us are there because we want to educate the young minds of the world and help them become the best people they can become.
But with that I think a lot of times we are pushed to do so many things at once and expected to be perfect at them immediately! When we need to be given time and instruction on how to master these things and they need to be appropriate for the population we are teaching,
We also need to keep in mind that although we all want to push technology with the economy there are still schools out there who are using white boards or even chalkboards only!
But I like your stance on the posed question and it was great reading your view, looking forward to reading more from you.
I agree we do have one of the most important professions. Your comment sums up why the education field is a profession. "we are educating the people that will be the leaders of our country one day, the people who are making the laws and will shape how our country will grow".
DeleteIt's interesting how some schools have more access to technology than other schools. I know someone who volunteered with a teacher who had to provide most of her technology for her classroom. She needed to get simple things such as a printer. She would write her own proposals and get donations from companies such as best buy. It was truly an eye opener for me. I thought teachers would be provided with all the equipment that they needed, in this situation it was not the case.
Thank you for your comment. I enjoyed reading your stance on professionalism and the expectations of teachers.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"Would we want our doctor to stop attending professional seminars and rely on out of date medications. If we demand this need for growth from other professions, then we should demand this for ourselves. We are professionals too."
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your analogy. It reminds me of a similar analogy that I've heard in relation to teachers. Something to the effect of: There are 10 patients in a doctor's waiting room and he prescribes them all with Advil without seeing each patient and assessing them. A teacher wouldn't do the same thing with her students: teach all diverse students one way. You take each student case by case and teach them differently and even interact with them differently.
Students are definitely given the "short end of the stick" when teachers hang back in their "comfort zone" and don't step up and grow as teachers and learn something that will benefit their students that may be not so convenient.
I have definitely felt the pressure of so many things to learn and perfect at once. I really try to take one thing at a time and to just remember that we want our students to be life long learners just like us. We are the ultimate Lifelong Learners!
Respectfully,
Jamie
I like your comment “You take each student case by case and teach them differently and even interact with them differently”. This statement is very true. All students are different and learn in many ways. What works for one student will not work for another student. This is why I like to communicate with other teachers to get their ideas on some ways they integrate different teaching styles into their classroom. I know my first year teaching I will feel overwhelmed with all the things I will need to learn. I will take your comment at heart and remind myself to take one thing at a time.
DeleteThank you!
Hello Ziglesias!
ReplyDelete“Would we want our doctor to stop attending professional seminars and rely on out of date medications? If we demand this need for growth from other professions, then we should demand this for ourselves. We are professionals too.”
Excellent analogy! More often than not, I see ‘seasoned teachers’ repeating the exact same lessons, year after year with little to no change because it is convenient for them. Like I said in my blog, “Seasoned teachers need to forget the old saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ because teaching is an ever-evolving profession.” To me, quality teachers are perpetual learners, continuing to better themselves and increase their knowledge so they can in turn become even more efficient teachers. With our tech-savvy 21st century students, it is important that schools and educators keep up with the ever-changing technology in order to keep up with our students. Therefore teachers, we need to “tune up” so that our students don’t “tune us out!”
Respectfully,
Kim Hoffman
"To me, quality teachers are perpetual learners, continuing to better themselves and increase their knowledge so they can in turn become even more efficient teachers".
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement on how we need to become effective teachers by staying up to date on current information. It not only benefits our students it benefits teachers in general. Technology is constantly evolving and some students more about technology then their teachers. It’s important that we at least become familiar with technology and how to incorporate it into the classroom. Thank you for your insight I look foward to reading your blog.