Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate
One of the main reasons why I decided to become a teacher is because I feel as if I can educate my students in a unique way. I am caring and observant so as an educator I will make sure all my students are learning and enjoying what they are learning. I intend to educate rather than teach by using methods that will benefit the kids in the long run. I want my students to want to listen and constantly want to learn more. I think a great way to get your students attention would be to listen to them and be a mentor that they can always come to.

In school I was taught many things but I can not remember anything that was taught. The reason for that was because I was only lectured to or talked to. The only time I ever learned anything was when I had to make a project or explain in a speech how something is done. Students can try to memorize all they want but if they don't put any of that information to use it will just get lost or thrown away. So, as an educator I plan on allowing my students to learn by teaching me what they have put to use. I want to inspire my students to think for themselves and strive to succeed.


Tom Johnson's Don't Let Then Take the Pencils Home!
Pencils! I couldn't help but continue to wonder how pencils could be such a big issue. The post seemed a bit humorous because as I read more pencil post they all were in the same context. To me the academic specialist needs to get her head on straight and understand that test scores are not the most important thing in schools. Even if our students got amazing test scores did they learn anything that they can put to use. Can we improve our kids test scores by not just teaching material but actually educating them with games that can stimulate their minds.

Pencils may be taken as a toy or a useless writing utensil but the objective of the post was that pencils can be used for more then just writing. In Tom's eyes the kids were from a low income family where they wouldn't find pencils at home or their parents using a pencil. The kids think of pencils as a toy because it has not been used as a tool in their environment.

Adventures in Pencil Intregration was an interesting post that made me think about what they were actually wanting to say without maybe saying it. Rather than focusing on just the thought of a pencil I think the post was talking about a broader topic. Pencils as we are referring to can not be the only tool used to teach our students. Making good test scores shouldn't be our main priority. Educating students so they can retain that knowledge and use it in life to better themselves should be our goal. It would be challenging to work at a school with an administrative leader that isn't concerned with the overall impression of the students. So, what do you think? Is the problem really about pencils?