Blog Post #5

If I Built A School

Krissy Venosdale is truly sensational! She's the perfect example of how a teacher should be, and the ideal role model for future teachers. Just from skimming through her Venspired blog, I could tell how much she loves her job and takes her work with her students seriously. I read a few of her post, and before I knew it, I was looking under every single tab of her site. Two posts really stood out to me. The first was "It Might Be Today". In this post, she talks about all the things of life that flood our lives and can sometimes make us feel overwhelmed. Then, she enters her classroom filled with children and all those things disappear for the time being. This really hit home with me because while I was reading her post, I thought "this is exactly how I feel". It amazed me that someone I had never even heard of before this assignment was able to put what I was also feeling into words (something I have never been good at). After reading that, I wanted to continue reading. The next item I came across was a picture she uploaded under Teacher Confession Tuesday. It states how she called her students "her kids" because they leave such a huge impression on her heart that they aren't just her students. In a way they are her children. I'm really involved in the children's ministry at my church, and I refer to every one of those children as one of my own kids. I'm happy to know I'm not the only person who does that!

Ms. Venosdale's post If I Built A School is the most far fetched dream of a school that I have ever heard of; however, it's the ideal school. A treehouse in the library? That's one of the most creative decor ideas I've ever heard. But she doesn't stop there. She goes on to tell how she would have the cafeteria a cozy area, a science lab for all sorts of experiments, and a bus on call for year round field trips. And then there's my personal favorite- a child's grade level would depend on their readiness and ability, not their age. This school doesn't seem like a dream come true for only students but teachers too. To have resources to use with your students and a more relaxed and fun work environment is any teachers dream. All I can say is that when Krissy Venosdale builds her school, I will be applying for a job there!

After reading about her dream school, I thought of what my dream school might be like. I would try to have something for every student to succeed in depending on his or her natural abilities. The arts would be something that would be very encouraged. There would be an art and music studio (separate from each other) where students can dive into their artistic and musical abilities whenever they wish. There would be a science lab with an unending cabinet of supplies for any type of experiment you can think of. The cafeteria would be more like a food court than a line that serves one thing. Students could have a variety of meals to choose from and then could choose to sit at a booth instead of a hard table with hard chairs that's the farthest thing from comfortable. There would be no desks. Students would sit at a table and learn how to work together on things. There would also be no tests (whoop whoop!). Instead, students would be graded on if they can apply the material and prove they truly know what they learned instead of just marking a simple a,b,c, or d on a piece of paper. Students could move up to the next grade level depending on their knowledge of what is being learned. No one would be held back simply because their birthday says they are to be in that particular grade. Recess and PE would be a must. Too many schools try to keep children in a classroom all day, and that simply does not work. After all, they are children; they need to have time to play. Classrooms would be colorful and vibrant instead of white cement walls that feel like a prison. Teachers would get paid the amount of money they deserve! After all, they are the ones investing their days taking care of and educating our children; therefore, they should reap more benefits than how they do now. This may just be a dream, but I'm a full believer that dreams come true. Every successful thing started out as a dream- who says I can't make mine a reality too?


Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

After watching Mr. Whitacre's virtual choir I was completely amazed! It's astounding how someone can take videos of people all around the world singing and put it together to make one huge virtual symphony. When I first read Jennifer Chamber's post, I'll admit I was a little skeptical. However, after watching the performance, I wish I could have been apart of it! It's truly amazing what technology can do. Before this video, I would have never thought someone could put together something like that. The assignments in this class are really good at proving me wrong!


Teaching In the 21st Century

In John Strange's version of Kevin Roberts' video Teaching in the 21st Century, Roberts stresses the point that teachers need to be teaching skills instead of just facts and contents. In today's world, students have all the information they could ever dream of gathering at their fingertips. Teachers are to be the filters. They are suppose to teach their pupils how to apply this information and use it in the real world.

I completely agree with Mr. Roberts. Teachers aren't the only source of information, and it would be ignorant of people to think children learn everything they know at school. Students can discover whatever information they want on google, but google isn't teaching them how to analyze the information for accuracy and showing them how to apply it to the real world. That's where teachers come in. We need to be teaching our children skills and ways to use information they find on the internet, or they will simply be beings with a bunch of information they don't know what to do with. I know many teachers view technology as the enemy, but realistically speaking, there is nothing they can do to stop it. So instead of blocking it out of the classroom, why not use it to your advantage and have kids learn from it. I'm speaking from experience that when working with younger children, you HAVE to make everything into a game. Why not download a game to the smart board that's relative to the material being learned in class and have a day that students can play that game and reinforce the material being learned? I know teachers would be surprised at how much faster the children catch on to the material.

I do believe we need to change the way students view technology. Yes, it is very entertaining, but that's not all it is. I really enjoyed the segment of the video that contrasted entertainment and engagement. Kids already love technology and want to play with it, so why not use it as a way to engage your students in material that's being taught in the classroom. Students would more than likely be more open to participating if they know they are going to be doing something on the computer, smart board, ect.



Flipped Classroom

I think flipped classrooms are an awesome idea! A few weeks ago, I shadowed a teacher in my hometown. She asked me to help her out a little and grade some assignments for her, and I was completely blown back by how low some of the grades were. In a way it made me really mad that the majority of the students did so poorly. I went on to ask her what the problem is. Why are these students not comprehending the information? Her response- there is not enough time. She has one hour and fifteen minutes with each class to teach two subjects. That's not enough time to properly cover the material the students need to learn. Flipping classrooms is a great way to solve this problem. Because time is limited, if students watch the lectures online before class and become familiar with the material, when they get in class the teacher will have more time to answer questions. The time she/he would spend lecturing and answering questions, could simply be just question time. It would also give students more time in class to practice that material being learned.

Yes, you run into the problem with students not watching the videos at home. But I agree with Ms. Gimbar that once those students see the rest of the class engaging in group activities, they are going to want to be apart of that and not at the computer watching the videos. It might take some time, but I think eventually the change of atmosphere in the class will motivate all the students to watch the videos beforehand.

I personally see this method of teaching as an answered prayer. I feel that if students are behind and not grasping the material, the teacher should take whatever means necessary to change that. It's their job to do that, and I will be recommending this method of teaching to that teacher I previously spoke of.