The teacher I was assigned to was Kelly Hines. Her blog is called "Keeping Kids First". Go to this link to check it out http://keepingkidsfirst.wordpress.com/ . The first blog post I commented on was entitled " When I Grow Up." She discussed the question everyone has heard in their lifetime at one point or another, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" She talked about how she had been asking herself that question lately. She also stated that she does not really ask her students that question anymore because she can not predict the future. Instead, she teaches her students and encourages them to be creative thinkers and problems solvers. She also encourages them to explore many different topics, interests and passions.I love how she stated, " I want to help students be who they want to be today." Mrs. Hines said that she had also been asking herself the famous question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" This may seem funny since she is a college graduate and a teacher, so in many people's eyes she has already made her decision. She wrote about how she may change her mind later about what she wants to be, but as of right now she loves teaching kids and adults. She also wrote about how she did not have her Master's degree, but that she may pursue one later.
This particular post made me think. I responded saying that even though I am an Elementary Education major and children are my passion, that does not mean I will be teaching elementary school for the rest of my life. I also stated that I did not know what the future has in store for me. I do want to get my Master's Degree, but that my change. I am only twenty-two years old, so my journey really has just begun!
The second post I commented on was called, "Reflections on a Lecture." Mrs. Hines made comments on a lecture she heard from Dr. Tomlinson at Western Carolina University. Dr. Tomlinson talked about five points regarding differentiation in classrooms today. I totally agreed with what Mrs. Hines said regarding this lecture. I stated that I agreed that we needed to validate our students and communicate to them that they are important. Our students may not get that validation or experience that type of communication in their homes or communities, so we may be the only ones giving it to them. I also agreed with her about making sure we take a great amount of time getting to know each one of our students. Mrs. Hines also talked about technology in the classroom and how great of a tool it is. I told her that I really did not know the positive impact of technology in schools regarding learning and teaching until I began taking EDM 310. She also spoke about how drastically and quickly education is changing. We will need to make sure we stay constantly on top of these changes in order to be effective educators. Mrs. Hines really liked the fifth point Dr. Tomlinson made, as well as myself. Her fifth point was "ALL students need a pedagogy of plenty-- high ceilings, high relevance and high personalization. I responded by saying that students really do need those principles throughout their entire educational journey.
If you would like to check out Dr. Tomlinson's lecture go to http://www.wcu.edu/3067.asp .
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