Savana Gill

Lesson 10 was about Reforming Education.

In this lesson, we had to watch a video and

answer questions based off of the video.

The questions were mainly our

thoughts over the video.

Lesson 10 Discussion

 “There's a big difference between preparing students for tests and preparing them for life. Some say that with the way things are going right now, America might be on a dead-end road where a lot of students will grow up to be obsolete in the way they think and what they do.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.

I do agree with this statement. The schools are supposed to prepare students for their future. With more and more testing, I think that the stress levels rise in students who take the test. Some students may just feel like giving up. I think that the test should not be the main focus of the schools. I think that they should also focus on situation that the student may get into when they are older and then focus on the test scores.

In this day and time, where all education in America is becoming "standardized" and more emphasis is put on grades than learning, would pulling the student out from a public school be a better decision than keeping the student in a public school? In other words, with the right programs and teaching methods that encourage learning, would homeschooling be better than public schooling? Explain your position.

I think that it is fully based on which type of homeschool the student has. If the parent will sit down and make the student learn and be disciplined, then I believe that it would be just like the child being in school. But if they don’t go out to learn real world problems, the student will not be prepared for the world. Because the child will be alone and in the real world they are not. Public schools, I think, prepare the students more because they are not just always sitting at home. At a public school, the students are around other students so they aren’t alone.

Describe your thoughts concerning Ken Robinson's video. For instance, do you agree with him? If so, how can you, as a teacher, change things for the better? If you did not agree with Ken, why?

          I really enjoyed watching his video. He focused on points that people don't really think about.  I agree with him. He thinks dance, arts, music, etc. should be important in schools also. I agree with him 100% on this topic. I agree with him because I was in band and music. People don’t realize that these are the classes that usually are the first to removed. Those are the types of classes, I think, that shows a student’s creativity. These classes could help students feel more comfortable in the school. Everyday students have hours of lessons about math and language. I believe these "extra" activities should be pushed just like academics. As a teacher, I want to try to get my students to be creative in those areas because I think that it is a great thing to be involved in those extra activities.

In the PDF file associated with this lesson, Ken mentioned "passion" and "commitment". Do you just do what you do with no particular passion or commitment to it? Why would this be important? Explain.

        I think that some people get away with doing what they do without passion or commitment. I don’t think that it should be this way. Someone could be driving a truck for a company and not like it, but they would get the job done. I think what Ken is saying is that when someone puts passion and commitment into what they are doing, they will do a better job because they will love what they are doing.  If you don’t love your job and don’t want to get better at it, then you are in the wrong field.

Ken provides some examples concerning creativity skill development. How would you develop creativity and problem-solving skills in YOUR classroom?

       I would try to make my lessons creative and interesting to see how the students like them. I could then see which students show creativity in their work. I would make sure that my students know that it is ok for them to be creative.

In your opinion, what were the two most important or interesting things you learned by viewing the video from Ken Robinson? Describe.

      One of the most important things to me was when he told the Nativity story. He went on to explain that being wrong is creative, but if your never wrong you can never be creative. Today, children grow up being afraid to be their own individual and being a little wrong. Another thing he mentioned is that today, degrees are just a job for people. Most people today just go to school just so they can have a degree for a job. Most people aren't even very excited about when they received their degrees.  I believe people can succeed if they showed their true passion and their creative side.

Summary:

This lesson was very interesting to do. I really enjoyed watching Ken’s Video. I learned a lot that I never really paid attention to before. I think that creativity is a huge part in education. It can motivate students and even help them reach their goals in life and not just what society wants them to do.

Research Question:  

How do we teachers help our kids stay creative?

References:

http://www.creativity-portal.com/articles/abby-connors/help-children-stay-creative.html

Research Analysis:

Not everybody is as creative as they were when they were 3 and 4 years old. They may not have learned how to be creative on into adulthood. I think that it is a great thing to be creative on into adulthood. This world today that we are living in doesn’t teach kids how to be creative on into adulthood. The United States does not make creative education a big thing yet. “True creativity comes from internal motivation to express ideas and feelings.” Teachers need to make sure that their students know that it is ok to be creative. The students may even do better in school if they can show their creative side. Teachers need to be more creative themselves in their classroom. For example, asking the students what you happen next in a story that the teacher is reading. This could get the students thinking to what they want to happen next in the story. Teachers should take time out of the day to relax and have fun creative ideas activities each day. This could also be used in older students as well.

Research Summary:

I really enjoyed doing this research. It made me realize that I want to be a creative teacher. I want to let my students use their own creativity to do some of their work.