Blog Post # 2

Did you know?
Both of the "Did You Know?" videos were somewhat scary to me. What scares me the most is how America can be this great nation in almost everything we do. Just for some reason we lack motivation in education. When the statistic of "The 25% of the population of India with the highest IQ's outnumbers the entire population of the United States" and also "India has more K-12 Honors Students then all of the K-12 students on the United States" my stomach dropped, then I became a little furious. How is it that a country that has made it a LAW for a child to attend some kind of educational program from the time they're in kindergarden to the time they are sixteen years of age, lose educational value to a country that only a certain elite can attend school? Every great country and nation that has ever been has always collapsed to another. I pray that America as a nation doesn't allow this because we found other outlets other than education to become more important.

Another prediction that has scared me is the prediction by Gordon Brown about the Chinese nation. Mr. Brown stated "By 2025 the number of English speaking Chinese is likely to exceed the number of native English speakers in the rest of the world" now Mr. Brown predicted that in 2005. The date now is 2013. That means just in twelve years this prediction might become true. How can this happen? As a citizen of a native English speaking country, how can another foreign country out speak our own language? It's because America isn't putting the education of their own before anything else.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
Before I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes I've never realized how much the world has changed technology wise in businesses, shops, hospitals, and restaurants. Then you take a look at our schools, and nothings really been changed technology wise. What we've learned and what we're teaching the children now has changed and kept up with the world, but the technology aspect hasn't. The school system is trying its best to keep up with the times, but it's hard to do especially with how much technology costs and adds up to. But if there was a way for our school systems to be able to achieve goals in getting more grant money for technology our schools could become these buildings where children learn about the whole world. They would get to actually see and witness why they're having to learn what is being taught to them.

Importance of Creativity
I have never heard of Ken Robinson before I watched his video, and I have to say I loved him. He's correct on so many levels. Our school systems aren't set-up to release the creativity of individuals. School systems are all about putting children into one box and telling them that they have to behave like this to be respected in life. We teach our children to act and behave like all the rest because being ones self isn't the normal.

“Every education system on Earth has the same hierarchy of subjects: at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and the bottom are the arts.” — Ken Robinson What's so sad about that is it's the arts that help shape a country. Look at all the different kinds of music, plays, dances, and art galleries all over the world. The arts are the one way that help express what people are feeling at whatever point they are in their life. Musicians write songs to help get across what they're feeling. When an artist paints a picture, he or she is capturing a moment that only they can feel. When children are told that, their creative side is not important they lose that beautiful passion it takes to become a musician, artist, dancer, composer, or playwright.

When Mr. Robinson started talking about education and how teachers are preparing the way for their students, even though they don't know what life will be like in five years I stopped and thought about that. Being a teacher is a gift as well as a heavy burden. What little time you have with your students, is how you're shaping them for their life. Because of that teaching is not a job to take lightly. As a teacher you have to be on your toes and constantly learning about what's new and how the world is becoming a different place everyday. You don't want your students to move on with their lives and not be able to know what all the world is going to throw at them.

As a teacher your job is to help your students grow as a whole. Not just learn to memorize answers, but also exercise the creative part of their brains as well. Being creative is just like memorization.If you don't exercise it daily you'll end up losing it, and it'll be hard to get that back.

Pinterest!!!
I am a lover of all things Pinterest!!! Pinterest is an awesome website for teachers or anyone who is aspiring to become a teacher. Ever since I've had a Pinterest account I've had a board labeled "Operation Students." I have gained so much insight and different learning aspects for my future students. I now have creative cute decoration ideas for my future classroom as well as different learning/teaching techniques.