Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Blog Post #10


a note from the teacher
Do You Teach Or Do You Educate?
     There are many reasons for which I chose Education for my major, but it wasn't until after having children of my own that I knew that's what I wanted to do. As a mother, it is a wonderful feeling when your children learn to say their first word, or take their first steps. It is such an incredible milestone, and you were the one who showed them the way. Before you can blink you are teaching them to tie their shoes and how to ride a bike! Young children are like little sponges waiting to soak up everything that they can, and I wanted to continue helping not only my own children, but other children to learn everything that their    little heart's desire. It is truly an AMAZING feeling!
     To teach someone is to show or explain how to do something, to give information about or instruction in, to encourage someone to accept something as a fact or principle, or to cause someone to learn or understand something by example or experience. To educate is to give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to someone. The two should go hand-in-hand, shouldn't they? I think that it is important to do both. When you are a teacher, your students are with you at least seven hours a day, 10 months out of the year. I know that my children love their teachers dearly. They look up to them in such a way, you would be amazed. You have to not only teach them, but you have to guide them. They are our future!

pencils in a circle
Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home
     In the post, Mr. Johnson is having a disagreement with Gertrude, the School Curriculum Instructional Interventionist Academic Specialist about weather the children should be allowed to take their pencils home from school or not. Gertrude insists that by them taking the pencils home, the wrong message is being sent. She claims that research shows low-income families see pencils as toys. She also believes that they will have lower standardized test scores if they take the pencils home for this reason in particular. 
     What Mr. Johnson is arguing is that this is total nonsense. I can't help but to agree! Does the so-called "drill-and-kill bubble test" really measure what someone has actually learned? I don't think so. I have written about this same topic a few times now, and my opinion hasn't changed thus far. In most cases, as soon as the information that was "drilled" is tested, it is also forgotten. But to appease Gertrude, Mr. Johnson says that he has met with the parents and students and explained ways that the pencil should be used for learning. Gertrude still doesn't believe that the students will be held accountable at home. In reality, all that matters are the test scores. They are what determines many things for the school. It is really a shame that the emphasis on a standardized test score can threaten the jobs of teachers. The biggest question that needs to be asked is: What are they really learning? 

3 comments:

  1. Tasha,
    For the first post, I like that you related what you watched to your own personal life! You didn't just consider the video in depth, but you also brought your own meaning to it. That is great.
    Also, Great job thinking critically and posing hard questions that really demand answers! Standardized tests, to me, are the least reliable indicators of intelligence or achievement. I scored poorly on standardized tests all my life, but have always had good grades because I work hard to get them. However, the "pencils" in this post were a metaphor for technology. In what ways does "technology" replace "pencils", or just traditional classroom tools and tasks?
    Carly

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  2. Tasha,
    You did a great job on your post! I try to relate my life and experiences to everything and I think you were able to do that flawlessly on this post. I hope you can keep up the great work for the rest of the semester.

    Jeni Stovall

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  3. It is easy to be passionate about things that you can relate to. Thank You!

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