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| From: dougbelshaw via Flickr |
Recently, on 2 cents worth, David has been posting a lot of political-centered ideas. A quote from his most recent posting really got my attention and made me think about the foundation of education here in America, "But I got to thinking, 'Should we expect to hear substantively conversations about education from political candidates.' They’re not educators. They do not hold education degrees, earned from schools of education. They do not hold post-baccalaureate degrees of education specialty like half of the teachers in the United States (49.5% in 2007-2008).1 It’s a huge part of our problem today, that education in America has been captured and held political hostage by AMATEURS, whose message on the subject has more to do with the rhetoric that will earn them votes than deep and risk-taking conversations about the nation’s problems." I think his remarks here really hit home for educators. I am not a "real" classroom teacher now, but I know some of my classmates are. What do you think about David's comments about politics and education?
Cool Cat Teacher Blog gives some suggestions for tools to use when teaching lessons as well as daily education news. One thing that caught my eye was her suggestion to teach about labor unions, especially with the current education strike in Chicago right now. I also like how she incorporates the "non-traditional" holidays in her ideas for lessons. I think it is important to teach students about the cultures, religions, and holidays in America, and especially the ones that are present in the school district. I think multicultural education is a great way to integrate a variety of cultural awareness, tolerance, and respect into the classroom. What are your thoughts on multicultural education?
Angela Maiers' recent blog post focuses on using Skype in the classroom. One quote from this post really stood out to me and made me think about the possibilities Skype holds for classroom use. "This has to be one of the most powerful experiences for students as Skype enables students to connect, collaborate, and communicate with other students across the globe. It creates an opportunity for students to learn from each other, to have authentic audiences for their work, and to meet others who can further their learning. And as I learned first hand, Skype has the power to bring awareness and action to causes that matter in the world." As we have discussed in this course, there are so many different technologies available, and as a teacher, it is up to you to distinguish between the "good" and "bad" technologies to use in your classroom. These technologies could change from year to year in my opinion, based on the students' interests, the size of the classroom, and other technologies available. What are your thoughts and opinions on using Skype in the elementary classroom?
Hey Emily,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you have been doing a lot of exploring this past couple of weeks. It's amazing the kinds of questions you can raise through researching blogs. It almost seems as if more questions are raised than answered. Out of your entire post I really enjoyed reading your comments regaring amateurs making decisions about where education should go. Don't you think these decisions should go to be that are actually qualified to make them and have had actual experience in the field? Not just completing research that tells you about what's going on in the field of education.
Megan
Megan,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have been thinking about how this actually affects education. Blogging as a tool doesn't make a difference in education. The opening of the world as an audience that is afforded by a tool like blogging provides an authenticity for learning and creating that we heretofore unavailable for the typical classroom student.
As you consider what and how you can use technology in your teaching, think of it as an "expander" or "enhancer" rather than a tool.
Z