Personal Learning Network
High School Stories by Casey Neistat "We won the lottery on life." Casey Neistat argues that just by being born in the United States, we have won the lottery on life and because of that we are obligated to take of any opportunity made available to us. Many people are born into third world countries, and we simply already have an immediate advantage in life simply based off of where we are born. Through his compilation of short stories, Neistat presents the many different opportunities he was granted in life and how it is important that you take advantage of each and every single one. As an educator it is vital that we present opportunities for our students to succeed and encourage them to take advantage of any opportunity given to them. Throughout my graduate education, I have been granted several opportunities that have helped me to become a better teacher. I have been granted the opportunity to expand my education on multi-cultural education, technology based education, collaboration based education, and innovative teaching methods. Through these opportunities I have been able to expand my theory of education. I especially feel that in today's day and age, technology prsents a large variety of opportunities to students and other youth. The expansion of technology has allowed students to have immediate access to vast knowldege like never before. social media has presented network capabilities beyond recconing, the internet has provided access to knowledge more accessable, and communication via the many differnet forms of technology has made the exchanging of ideas an easier and supplemental way to gain knowledge. Teachers who do not embrace technology are denying students access to opportunities to learna and are simply stuck in a prehistoric world that no longer exists. Utilizing technology in a classroom will only further a students learnign and will expand opportunities in the classroom. Additionally, their are many computer-based skills that can and should be learned that will help students to succeed when they enter the work force. Technology is an opportunity for teachers to expand their toolbox, and more importantly, is an opportunity for students to expand their knowledge, skills, and will provide further opportunities in their future. Students should learn how to recognize the several different opportunities they are granted to them and they should feel encouraged to embrace the different opportunities. It is also important to not take opportunities away from our youth. Opportunities can be small, medium or large, and allowing students to take advantage of any and all opportunities in their education, work, and life. Neistat, C. (2015, January 15) High School Stories [Video file]. Retrived from: https://youtu.be/_ayTA-tJr3A
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The Danger of a Single Story by Chimanda Adichie During my undergraduate career, one of my favorite professors introduced me to anthologies: books that are a compilation of several real life short stories and recollections of a variety of different people. I immediately fell in love with the structure of these books and was fascinated by how different individual stories differed on the same subject matter. As my undergraduate career progressed I would seek out anthologies in every subject I was learning and now, I seek out anthologies in every subject I teach. It is important to show students that there are different sides to every story. This idea is what Chimanda Adichie's talk focuses on, the danger of a single story. She presents several stories of her own experiences in dealing with a single story. She presents the fact that many people make assumptions or immediate judgments simply based on how someone looks or where they came from. Her point is this: all people are different and all people come from different backgrounds, cultures, and upbringings. If you automatically assign a single story to a person, you are taking away their freedom of choice and making the life smaller. You are not granting them the chance to show who they really are. I showed this video to my students in class during a lesson about the Harlem Renaissance. I wanted them to tell me if they thought that those who participated in the Harlem Renaissance were trying to change the singe story of African Americans in the US. I wanted them to tell me if they had ever experienced a single story, but not to say it out loud, but instead to think about it and to write about it. I wanted them to tell me if they thought the single story was still relevant. I then shared my personal experience with the single story and how I am stereotyped on a daily basis. In sharing my own experience, my students were engaged and later shared great detail about their own single stories in their writing. ALL of my students claimed that the single story is still extremely relevant and most argued that both the single story and stereotypes need to be diminished. I found Adichie's video very powerful and was extremely proud and excited to see that my students too found it powerful. Adichie, C. (7, October 2009) The Danger of a Single Story [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg?list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp Every Kid Needs a Champion by Rita Pierson Rita Pierson is nothing short of inspiring. In her talk she talks about the importance of teacher-student relationships. As a teacher you will never like all of your students but it is important that you do your best to reach out to all of your students and build a relationship with each and every single one. Children only learn in classrooms they feel comfortable in, and that sense of comfort comes from the students. Building relationships is essential to student learning. Building students confidence is essential to student learning. Showing kids you care is essential to student learning. As educators putting student needs above your own is part of the job description. Learning should be fun. Learning should be engaging. Learning should not be a burden and you should most certainly not allow your students to think it is. Pierson creates a positive learning environment for her students and gives them a space to fail and to succeed. One of my favorite things that Pierson says in her speech is when she is talking about how she graded a students quiz. The student got 18 of the 20 questions wrong and Pierson put plus 2 and a smiley face on the paper. She said "Minus 18 sucks the life out of you. But plus 2 says I ain't all bad." This is such a powerful action. It demonstrates that in all that we do in our classroom, it effects the students. I am a highly positive person and do display that positivity in the classroom with rub off on your students. Build confidence in you students, don't shut them down. Show your students you care about them. Support them. Like Pierson proclaims, be their champion. Pierson, R. (2013, May 3) Every kid needs a champion [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw?list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp a The Tyranny of Curriculum by Shawn Cornally East Side Prep is a new and innovative school located in Iowa. Shawn Cornally discusses the reasoning behind this new school and how it is effective. The school's primary focus is allowing the students to choose their curriculum and to create a project based off their interests. Cornally focuses on the idea that students don't like school, and he wanted to create a school that student's loved and would be sad to miss. And he believes that allowing students to choose what they learn will create a lovable learning environment. East Side Prep is a wonderfully innovative school that focuses on student individual passion and interests. As I watched Cornally's Ted Talk, I couldn't help but be enticed and found myself think of ways to incorporate such innovative teaching into my curriculum. As a life long learner, I value new materials and new methods of teaching that involve student decisions and interests. I remember being in high school, and even college, and hating certain classes because the lessons were dry, the homework was tedious, and the teacher did not care about student interests. When I chose to become a teacher I wanted to value student interests and opinions and create innovative lessons that captured student attention and desire to learn. I adopted a progressive educational philosophy, which focuses on students individual needs above content and creates a classroom environment that students want to learn in. I believe that Cornally's school is based completely off the idea of progressive teaching. Cornally discusses the idea that students hate school, and that they look forward to days off and look forward to Snow Days so that they do not have to attend their classes. And though you have to laugh about the trust in this statement, as an educator is is nothing but bereave me that students have come to loath their education so much. Cornally advocates that teachers and schools need to find ways to make students love school again. To do this educators and schools need to work together to create innovative teaching techniques that create a passion in students to want to learn. Many teachers may want to create and use these types of ideas in their classroom however they may be scared to implement these techniques in fear that the school, parents, or district may not approve. It is important for educators and schools to work together and organize a way to implement these techniques in the classroom. The future of education needs to change and it is innovative teachers like Shawn Cornally that we need to look to as role models for the future change. Cornally argues that educators need to focus on helping students build skills that they can put on their resumes. By allowing students to have the opportunity to think, plan, and develop physical projects that can actually be used outside of the classroom will allow students to have something to write about on their college essays and add to their resumes. Teachers should focus on creating students who will go out and change the world rather than just forces students to participate in daily lessons of subjects that in reality do not matter to them. Innovative teachers who produce innovative thinkers, will create an innovative world. Carnally, S. (2014, March 14) The Tyranny of the Curriculum [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/aldMBgT6u-4?list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp |
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Teacher candidate at CSU, San Marcos. Archives
February 2017
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