Blog Post Assignment # 10

Do You Teach Or Do You Educate?

The video compares teaching to educating and describes both. We have to stop looking at educating and teaching as synonyms. I think a great teacher knows how to educate and not just teach. The first step in becoming a teacher that educates is to truly care about the students and if their learning. In order to educate you have to teach and not preach. Anyone can preach or teach about rules but it takes an educator to help understand the reasons behind those rules. The why’s and how’s. If students can understand the “whys” then it is more meaningful and the students learn. Educating focuses more on the students learning.  To me, being an educator means to teach and allow students to experience what they are learning; it is not just about the explanation. It is also about being there to guide, inspire, and provide feedback and support for them during the trial and errors of their learning experience. 

As a previous, team leader, I did a lot of training and my goal was to get my team members to understand the reason behind what they were doing and why. I felt like if they knew why and how the software worked they would be able to troubleshoot the issue logically instead of just doing something because someone told them to (which may or may not work depending on the issue).   For example, if the electricity is out, plugging in the T.V. is not going to turn it on. One would have to understand the electricity is the source of the television being able to power on and off, not plugging the cord into the outlet. Anyone can be taught to plug the cord into the outlet but then one who is educated about electricity will understand what is happening when the cord is plugged into the outlet and if the power is out, then it is not going to turn on. We have to educate our students in a way that is going to allow them to make real world choices and decisions; to think for themselves. They are going to have to apply these the things we teach them to everyday situations.

Our blog assignments always have me researching and looking at different blogs to see what others opinions are on our topics and I found a blog Luckyenoughblog related to this topic in particular. It had quite a funny story that I couldn’t help but to share. 

“there were a group of young 11-12 year olds at an all girls school. they would get together in the bathrooms and put on makeup. they would swipe on lipstick and kiss the bathroom mirrors before heading to class. understandably, the janitor was not happy about this. after scrubbing the mirrors day after day, he went to the headmistress.

“this has got to stop. the girls cannot keep kissing the mirrors and leaving stains for me to clean up,” the janitor said.

“i agree completely. i’ll have the teachers talk to the girls. it will stop,” the headmistress assured him. but of course, the kisses on the mirrors continued to show up. and so, the headmistress decided to gather a handful the girls in the bathroom.

“ladies, it is unacceptable to leave a mess like this for our janitor to clean up,” she told them. “why don’t you show us what you have to do to clean this up,” she prompted the janitor. the janitor nodded, grabbed a sponge, dipped it in the toilet and began scrubbing the mirrors.

and just like that, the girls stopped kissing the bathroom mirrors.”

I want to be a teacher who educates and not just “teaches”. I want to give my students reasons and experiences that will allow them to remember things forever and not just for the moment. I want my students to take those experiences with them when they leave my classroom and be able to apply them to other things in their lives. I want my students to trust in me to guide them and know that I am there for them. I want to lead them and I want them to direct my teaching. I hope that I am a teacher who educates and not a teacher who just “teaches”.

Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home  by Tom Johnson

Mr. Johnson’s blog was very interesting to me. First of all I have to say, it is crazy how scores and grades are used to measure what student’s learn and the teachers ability to teach. There is so many other ways to measure a student’s knowledge rather than filling in little bubbles on a “drill-and- kill  test”. Anyway, in Mr. Johnson’s blog he is arguing with the school’s curriculum instructional interventionist academic specialist, Gertrude. She is adamant that Mr. Johnson does not allow his students to take home "pencils" after reading an article that stated students who come from a low income neighborhood and bring pencils home ultimately have lower test scores. The kids "play" with pencils instead of using them to learn. Mr. Johnson does not necessary agree with the article, but rather than continuing to argue with her, he offers a solution that involves meeting with the parents and explaining how "pencils" could be used for learning. She still is not convinced this is going to work and wants to know how he is going to hold them accountable at home.  Like many other administrators in today's schools, Gertrude is more concerned with the scores and the "show and tell" the test scores provide for the school rather than being concern if the students are truly learning. 

One thing we have to remember is students are always learning no matter where they are or what they are doing. They learn from their environment, peers, teachers, and experiences. All of these things influence what they are going to learn. As teachers, we can educate students using experiences and a number of other tools; if they use “pencils” to play hangman, then why not turn it into something educational. I have seen some amazing artwork sketched with a pencil and to think if someone took their “pencil’s” away. 

One could think of computers, internet, and other media tools as “pencils” that student just use for entertainment and not look at how they can be used as educational tools. Just like a pencil for an artist, media tools can open doors for creativity. Technology is a big part of today’s world and yes student’s are going to use it for entertainment so why can’t they be entertained while they are learning in the classroom? THEY SHOULD BE! The more we intergrate technology into our lessons and into our curriculum the better the chances are we are going to have students who actually become motivated, learn something, take it with them, and REMEMBER IT.  When they are entertained they are engaged, when they are engaged, they are learning. So let them take their “pencils” home and play, who knows what they might learn!