Blog #7

College has been a terrific experience, one day I decided to go to school and so I walked in off the street into the administrative building and signed up. I took ownership of my college career, I was going to school for me so I took classes that were interesting to me. As I've studied my eyes were opened and now I find myself relating all the things I learn on campus to everyday events that are going on around me.

The reason I mention that is because as I read I related a lot of what was in the text to my prior experiences. First I like the idea of "looking for fresh ways to present and explore ideas." This just makes sense to me, I grew up in the country so I often look to the animal kingdom and contrast it with our human world. As young creatures we are born with this innate sense to explore and discover. I think about the puppies we had and how as they grew and became more brave they would go on adventures around our yard. This often lead the dogs into trouble because they would try to explore our garbage. The puppies curiosity helped them develop, as people we are also filled with curiosity and we too want to learn. The students in the class were curios to see how many washers the boat would hold, that curiosity will help them remember that experience thus cementing what they learned forever in their minds.

As a teacher my biggest fear is that I will get bored with my material because I know that it will show through in the way I teach and in turn my students will be bored with it. I hope my students will never be bored with me and they shouldn't be because children want to learn. By utilizing new ways to present ideas my students will be filled with knowledge. In fact my students will huger to learn and it will be easy to guide them in their knowledge discovery. That is what I love about teaching, I am never done learning and there will always be new and exciting ways to teach. My students will never be bored with me because I'll always find fresh ways to share information.

The next idea I would like to incorporate into my class is the knowledge of where success comes from. Sometimes students don't get the chance to learn that it takes work to be prosperous. I like how to book said it was important that each student realize that their persistent effort is linked to their success. I remember for psychology we learned that it was better to compliment each student for working hard instead of telling them they were smart. A child's intelligence level is out of their control but how much effort they put in is totally in their hands. That's why I think it is important to "Help Students Realize Success Is the Result of Effort."

The final area I liked was when the author talked about taking a "No Excuse" stance. It went on to say that although students come from many difficult circumstances that we as teachers are not helping them by not making them accountable. I think that a "no excuse" stance contrast against the ideas of being fair: Not all equal shares but what each individual needs. The important part that comes into play in both is the child's needs. I worry that it will be difficult to be equitable to my students but with guidance like that in the book I can see that it is the best way.