Why do I want to be a teacher? Hmm... such a thought provoking question for me. I know when I was younger I always wanted to be a teacher. I never really knew why until I started to get older. I think that being a teacher is so much more than just standing in the front of a classroom pointing at a board. I want to make a difference in a child's life. To see them actually enjoy learning and in return actually learn something they can apply to their life. To many teachers are expected just to teach their students just enough to pass an ACT, SAT, or a quarterly test such as CRTs. I do not want to be guilty of that. I want to be nurture the things that my students are interested in, and inspire them to follow their dreams. I do not want my students to just be another high or low score on a test. I want them to be inspired by me, so they can go and inspire others. I want to take the areas they are the strongest in and have them enjoy their strengths. I also want to take their weak points and make them stronger. I want my students to take their education to another level. I do not want them to be like I was in school, and just having to retain information just for a test and then forget it. I want to make it to where my students can look back to Elementary school and recall things that they had learned or can remember they had a teacher who cared about them and wanted them to pursue their dreams. I want to know I made a difference.
In this video, they used a quote by Socrates that states: "Education is not the filling of a vessel, but the kindling of a flame". I do not want to be guilty of just shoveling information into my students just for them to put right back on a test. I want to take that spark, the flame, and help ignite it to become a fiery passion for their future and their education. I have a real close friend, who is a Pastor, who has said "As long as you are willing to fight, I am willing to fight with you". I now use this saying when talking to students myself. I want my students to know that as long as they are willing to fight for what they believe in, and want to do then they have a teacher who is willing to fight alongside with them to see those dreams and things come to fruition.
Don't let them take pencils home
WOW! This blog post really demonstrates the mentality of a lot of teachers. Mr. Johnson took this conversation and showed us the thought process of some of these teachers. To many teachers worry about test scores then they do about the students actually educating themselves on things. Not that test scores are not important. Test scores can show, to an extent, the knowledge level of a student. But what about the students who get test anxiety, or the ones who were never taught a way of studying that works for them? But I think that the way that Mr. Johnson went about showing how to talk with a teacher who is only worried about test scores was very interesting. He, in return, told this worried teacher that it is okay if they take pencils home even if they use it for recreation. He had enough faith in his students to do what they needed to do.
Hey Kasey,
ReplyDeleteYou have great post on the Edcuate or Teach video. I really like how you made it personal to what you want to do in the classroom.
I'm not sure if you understand the Tom Johnson post. He used pencils as a metaphor. He wasn't talking about pencils, he was talking about technology (i,e, computers). Take a second look at the post and then you will see that it is a metaphor.
Make sure you are proofreading your posts. You had some grammatical errors throughout.
Stephen Akins