Year One Classes Coming to a Close ..

Well it seems year one is coming to a close .. classes anyways. It has been quite the journey. I feel like I am going into this student teaching with more resources and experience this time, which is nice! I am curious about what classes we will have next term. I am also curious about which school division I should get into for student teaching next term .. I wish there was a way that we could find out what schools WILL be hiring after we graduate, so we can go to them and get our foot in the door! It is a little frustrating .. Hopefully, fingers crossed, that we will all get jobs!

Technology - Is it the devil like everyone thinks?

Personally I think the philosophy of many people on our everchanging technology is frustrating. WHY ARE YOU SCARED? Granted, it is a little intimidating .. yet so cool! Why not embrace it and learn more? Be positive? The fact of the matter is tech. is taking over our lives. It may have begun this take over slowly and under the radar .. however, that is not the case now. It is here whether people like it or not. As teachers is our job not to prepare our students for the 'real world'? Well I don't know if everyone has noticed but the real world is technology driven. EVERY SINGLE ASPECT. In order to properly educate our youth, teachers need to be the implementers of the new gadgets and tools. They need to be at the head of technology. Yet, for some unknown reason, they are at the end. Schools still use overhead projectors .. THIS UNIVERSITY STILL USES OVERHEADS .. Our facilities need to be up on all this progress and have it in the classrooms. By the time I graduate this program - I could be in a class with a Smart Board. I have absolutely no idea how to use one .. this is an issue. Faculties, staffs, schools .. need more training, more exposure, more equipment - and this needs to happen now. RIGHT NOW! Were actually ... Already behind .. perhaps too far behind?!

To Ban It or Not To Ban That .. That is the Question!

Facebook, youtube .. all banned in our schools. Is this really the answer? Should we ban two of the most popular websites in the world in our classrooms? Is that not contradicting what we as teachers are instructed to do .. ie. ICT? I find this really interesting. I believe if we ban the use of these sites in our classrooms we essentially are creating the problem. If students are going to abuse the use of these sites, they will do so whether it is banned at school or not. If we allowed our students to use these sites in supervised situations look at the possibilites! An assignment could be to ask as many facebook friends as possible about different activities they loved doing in their classroom. These ideas could then be brought back to their classroom, shared with the students and teacher, and then maybe even implemented. The sharing of resources through students .. that's cool! As for youtube .. banned? really? Look how many classes in university where we have sat down to an informational video via youtube. It is an excellent resource and as far as I am concerned one that MUST be not only incorporated into the class, but also 'searching' and 'how to use' must be introduced to the students. They need to keep up with all these new tools and technologies or they will fall behind in the world - and is our job not to prepare them?!
Another tidbit with facebook that I am torn over is whether or not teachers should have it? We walk into orientation for education, our first exposure to this program, and we leave more nervous and scared then when we got there. 'Do not have facebook, do not be on the internet, do not.. do not.. This is all we hear. But why? Just because I am a teacher I cannot have a life .. What about the doctors in town .. should they not have facebook .. what about lawyers .. what about the grocery store clerks .. they are not professionals? I hate to burst bubbles here but last time I checked I wanted to be a teacher not the Queen of England (that being said if she had facebook I would be totally ok with that). Yes, I want to teach children, and yes I need to be responsible to do so .. but so does the daycare worker, the babysitters, the nannies, the doctors, etc. Having some pictures up of me out with my friends, having a good time, being social .. I really do not see the problem in that. Obviously my pictures are not going to be me acting out of control but they will be me having fun. So now an employer sees me out and about in the pictures so they will not hire me? Instead they are going to hire the male/female that has no friends, no social skills - but dont worry they stayed home and studied .. ? My personal view of education is that the people with the best people skills, funnest attitudes, responsible personalities - those are the ones who will be successful. Those are the people who will send your kids home wanting to come back to school, wanting to learn more .. This 'student motivation' has been put on the back burner - we are suppose to meet outcomes --> not have fun, not try and get the kids to want to learn .. I think this is beginning to change and we will be the ones to aid in doing so! :-) I guess we will live and learn .. Ban and Unban .. until we find a system everyone wants.. it is a work in progress.

The Education Journey Begins!

Well I have made it through the first semester of education and am now embarking on the second! So far so good! Education is very different from how I imagined; both in good and bad ways. Initially, I thought you came into this program and you were taught how to teach. Essentially, this is what needs to be done and this is how you do it. Instead I feel like in many aspects I am not going to be prepared when I leave this building. I found out last term that the class 'Instructional Methods' is being cancelled. Would someone tell me what the point to that is? This was the only class that gave me ANY kind of background or ideas when I left to go Student Teaching last term. THE ONLY CLASS. Instructional Methods, provides education students with activities to give to students to help them learn. The activities vary in what multiple intelligences they cater to and in how they are performed within a classroom. To cancel a class like this is very disheartening and I am glad I took it before this was done. Another apect I am struggling with is what professor to believe. You go to one class and they tell you to do this .. these methods or this research has proven that this is what needs to be done for the students to learn. You go to your next class .. no, no, I do not know where that came from THIS is how you should teach, this is how kids learn. It seems to me that 'education' is an opinion rather than a science if you will. I do not see a right or wrong way, I just see many ways and many conflicting ideas. It takes a 'teacher' to be able to enter a program this conflicting and come away from it with what they believe is right. This is important. Only a true teacher can take many different ideas and combine them into a mosaic of opportunity .. and this is my 'ah-ha' from education thus far. I will write bi-weekly in this blog on my peevs and successes in education, my ah ha's and my no no's .. Keep in touch Kids!

Miss. Lockhart
Brandon University