Blog Post #10

Morgan Bayda
I really enjoyed reading this post by Mrs. Bayda. In my opinion, her post seems to offer some insight from her perspective on distance learning vs having a teacher in the classroom. Within today's educational system, the debate continues as to whether or not it is better to have a teacher present in the classroom. In thinking about this particular debate, I have two opinions. First, I feel that distance learning promotes a learning environment in which students will be able to become self motivated learners. Without anyone present to hold your hand per say, it forces one to be independent in terms of learning. Secondly, while I feel that distant learning can be great, I feel that a teacher in the classroom works better in terms of helping one to reach their learning potential. The key however is to make sure that there is sufficient collaboration going on among the students as well as the teacher. I can relate to the feeling of frustration when you know that you will have to sit and listen to a two hour lecture. In this instance, learning is not fun and it would be challenging for me to even stay awake, let alone learn something. The video that Mrs. Bayda posted by Mr. Brown really gives one something to think about. In one sense, it makes you wonder how one could ever maximize their learning potential by dropping out of any institution of higher learning. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense because if your learning environment is not one that you enjoy being in, then little to no learning will take place because there would be a lack of motivation.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
Very interesting post. In this this particular post, it sheds some light on what I feel is one of the main problems in today's educational system. As educators, we too often get caught up in what our students standardized test scores are like rather than if they are actually learning. This post reminds me of a referendum that was tried to be put into place in the state of Florida where teachers pay would be based on their students' scores on standardized tests. Now let me ask you this question: If you were told that your pay would be based on what your students did on a standardized test, would you be more interested in whether or not your students actually learned anything, or if they could pass that particular test? Hum, I'll let you think about that one for a second!

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
This is a very interesting video. Throughout one's life, I would imagine that we always spend a lot of time reflecting about the numerous times that we have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to live through. This video asks one particular question that I often ask myself, which is whether or not I am better today than I was yesterday. With each passing day, I personally make an attempt to be a better person in every aspect of my life whether it be personally or professionally. It is my belief that if you are willing to listen and learn from others as well as be willing to apply some of those things in your life, then you can be better today than you were yesterday. Of course, the things that we attempt to learn from every day, we should do it with caution because every lesson that one learn is not a good one. After having giving this much thought, my sentence would be "he made a difference in someone's life".