The Game Has Changed
"It is the learners who will inherit the future; the "so-called learned'" who think they "know it all" will find themselves frustrated by a world that has passed them by."
Reflections:
What is the role of schools today and how are the roles of teachers changing?
Reactions:
What are your feelings about the topics presented in this chapter?
What are some practical applications for what you're learning?
What do you want to remember about this chapter?
Click on comments to leave your response
Reflections:
ReplyDeleteWhether we like it or not, schools still need to take on societies issues. The role of the school continues to change, but a change that is becoming tougher and tougher to keep up. President Obama continues to push education as a way to bring us out of this economic crisis, but is this truly going to get us out of this crisis? Take a look at the mortgage issues, the most educated people were taking loans way out of their income bracket. People giving out these loans had MBA's!!!! However, the school's role is still preparing students for post-secondary experiences. These experiences come in very different ways. Think back to 5K, we worked on developing the social, emotional, and academic sides to children. We still need to do this even when they enter their senior year because when they leave the K-12 setting, typically they are away from home and on their own, so they need to be prepared. All of our kids are going to need some sort of education after high school, so it is the schools job to prepare them for that. With that being said, this puts a tremendous amount of pressure on teachers. I have worked with teachers from the entire K-12 spectrum, and everyone views the role of the teacher differently. K-8 teachers see their role as developing the whole child and not allowing students to fail without truly taking ownership of that student's learning. 9-12 teachers sometimes think they are about content and not the child. It is truly our responsibility to engage students in learning and get them to produce. (Great lead into Chapter 1.) Teaching has never been so difficult. My mother-in-law just retired from teaching this past spring. She mentioned to me that she does not know how a new teacher will make a career out of teaching because of the difficulties the job now entails. Students are more at-risk than ever and finding that connection with all of them is extremely difficult However, we still must continue to engage students and keep them moving forward towards success in their social, emotional, and academic lives.
Reactions:
Having taken courses about the brain, the chapter was a good review. It is very interesting, as I talk and listen to my colleagues, I find it very interesting how little the typical teacher knows about the brain. I think this is crucial to every teacher's success in the classroom. I'm not saying you need to know everything, but teachers need to understand the basics.
The practical applications I want to remember is the impact we have on students. The experiences we give on our students are so crucial. The littlest comments can either mean the world to a student, or wreck your relationship with them for the entire year. Teachers need to be extremely careful when communicating with all students and while developing relationships with them. Also, the importance of engaging all students in relevant activities. The brain remembers experiences it enjoys, hence teachers need to continue to engage students at all levels. (Differentiation!)
The role of a teacher has changed from merely an educator to an educator, psychiatrist, social worker, nurse, mediator, coach, etc. As an elementary teacher, I know I need to teach so much more than I was taught. We are living in a time where information is changing more rapidly than ever before, and our role as a teacher is more important than ever. We need to be at the forefront of new ideas and techniques to help our children the most. The problem is, we need to do this in a time where school funding is getting cut, the public perception of schools is dropping, class sizes are growing, etc. I love teaching, but it can be daunting at times.
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