Blog Post 2

After watching the first assigned video Did You Know 3.0, I began to wonder if it was really possible the United States was falling so far behind in the scholarly world. I can’t see how it is possible to judge our academic system simply by statics when we offer equal opportunity to all students. In other countries it isn’t possible to say the same. We may not have as many honor students but we do offer the same education to anybody willing to take it.
On the other hand, it could be observed that we’ve been offered so much in such a privileged society that we take for granted such a fantastic opportunity and do not apply ourselves. We as Americans sometimes feel entitled to what great options we have been given whereas people in other countries work hard for what little they are given. I don’t believe our academic system is struggling as much as the will to learn. If we were really falling behind academically we wouldn’t have so many foreign exchange students wanting to learn in the United States.

Mr. Winkle Wakes on the other hand was a rude awakening to a truth in schools so many have ignored. The schools are what need technology most right now considering we are raising our future in these schools and they are increasingly falling behind in worldly advances. Many classrooms still only have just one computer. How can we be sure our children are ready for what the future holds if we can’t offer every option the present offers to them?
I haven’t seen many changes in schools since I graduated from high school. Some of the more privileged schools were able to install smart boards, but many schools can’t say the same. I feel it is extremely important to offer only the best education to our students and it is our responsibility as future teachers to work as hard as we possibly can to be sure we deliver just that.

I must say Ken Robinson couldn’t have been more right when he claimed schools kill creativity. I felt this way before I actually saw the video. I’ve blamed the “5-paragraph essay” for the fall in fine literature. Although his theory of people fearing being wrong was brilliant. It does appear that we stop thinking creatively for the fear of making a mistake or being wrong. When we are students, we are drilled on how there is one correct way and not to challenge it.
As a student aspiring to be a drama or creative writing teacher, I feel it is extremely important to focus on the arts. I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Robinson that the arts are equally as important as all the other subjects. If we were to open our minds to intelligence being diverse we would open the world to us much more than it is now. It is important to allow people to make mistakes and grow in their creativity and intelligence in order to move on.

Cecilia Gault is wise beyond her years. She was able to see the problem we have in our school system and she is still just a young student herself. I also feel it is important to broaden our horizons and explore other cultures in order to learn. I was able to experience this first hand when I took a literary tour of Scotland and England. I opened my eyes so much to see just what the authors of works we now call classics were witnessing while they were writing them. It was beautiful and gave me a whole new appreciation for those authors.
I feel U.S. students have the ability to compete with the rest of the world. They just need inspiration and confidence to learn. Many children do not have the initiative to better themselves because they lack the inspiration from home and school. This problem just be corrected starting with our teachers. We must work hard to be sure the children want to learn and like to learn.

The future of teaching is being implemented by Vicki Davis now. She is working hard to discover more ways to help children learn. There is so much we must learn to do in order to keep up with the fast-paced changes taking place in the world. She is smart enough to know part of teaching is to never stop learning. Everyone must learn something new every day in order to keep our world growing.
She also stresses how important it is to connect ourselves with the world. When we get outside our the small world we live in and realize there is so much more to the world than just where we live, we begin to realize the wonderful things we are missing. Branching out to the rest of the world is the next step in education.