I, like many others, have always struggled to get into the blogging thing. I understand the reflective nature of my role and although I love to share my musings, I like to do that in person with the teachers I work with. Although, the reflective writing process opens you to new ideas and insights into your own work, I struggle finding the time to make that happen. I know that these thoughts and musings are supposed to help others and I really enjoy reading the reflective journeys of my teaching partners around the world.
I like to read... a lot. I read blogs, I read twitter, I just read. I try to find new and exciting ways to engage students and create a bank of ideas that I can use when working with teachers through all of the things that I read. I tinker. I make. And all of this is for the students and teachers I work with, including my kids. I just want to know more.
We are all struggling as teachers. Our kids are changing. They are evolving from the classical notion of a student into worldly, passionate individuals who are (often!) more aware now of the world they live in than we were when we were in school. The ever-changing technology landscape has shifted our role from the traditional purveyor of knowledge to the facilitator and guide on their educational journey. Rather than fearing the very tools of distraction, like social media, we need to learn how to harness their energies into our classrooms to ensure our leaders of tomorrow are prepared to use everything at their disposal.
My FAVOURITE George Couros quote challenges our teacher roles and resistance to change.
"Integrating technology is no longer optional for us. It’s not okay to say, “I can’t use this type of technology because I don’t know it or I’m not good at it.” None of us would accept that response from a student who was struggling to learn something new and complicated, so we shouldn’t accept it from ourselves."
We need to model change. We need to model resilience.
I'm dropping a TEDx video in here as food for thought... Brian Aspinall on Education Reform. Fantastic speaker with a fantastic message.
Hi Todd!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the desire to stay out of the blogging world! I love reading other people's thoughts, but refrain from sharing mine in the public forum.
Brian is a great speaker who teaches in a modern way.
Glad to join you on this uncomfortable journey!
Mistene
Wow Todd! What a thought provoking post. I love the quote you included from George. It is so true yet I know there are so many teachers that refuse to embrace change and stick to the "I've been teaching for years and my way has always worked for me".
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have steered clear of writing my own blog. Unlike you, I honestly don't read the blogs of others either. Maybe that should be a goal of mine to help make this process a little easier for me. Thanks for the food for thought.