What I learned

The advice Mr. McClung had to offer was easy to comprehend, straightforward and all that, what it wasn't, however, is anything new or interesting. Don't just tell me to be reasonable, give me an example of a particular instance when you were unreasonable and how you either became reasonable or completely lost out on a critical teaching moment and then tell me what you would now do differently if you had the chance. That takes care of two of your criteria already; I now know what it is to be reasonable, how to use it properly, and I've "never stopped learning." McClung mentioned that he had trouble with his communication skills; wouldn't it have been great if he offered a personal story about how his trouble with communication affected a learning moment? Don't tell me teachers need to work on their communication skills, tell me what you do to help the problem. This guy teaches elementary school and apparently that is the audience he is blogging to as well. There is no real sound advice here, just a bunch of fluff, with nothing to be gained or learned from it. I've seen better, more practical advice written on a bathroom stall-door. I don't know, maybe there is something to learn from his other posts, but based on the one i just read, probably not.

Last Lecture

I really enjoyed this video of Randy Pausch's last lecture. He clearly has a great attitude, despite having terminal cancer, and it seems like this has always been his personality, not some sort of deathbed conversion. He has such a passion for what he does and what he has done with his life that one can only be inspired to dream and to dream big. Having goals and being motivated to achieve those goals at all costs should be a message instilled in every child. More importantly, however, is making sure the institutions we have in place provide the resources necessary to help every child reach their goals. For every Randy Pausch out there, there are hundreds, thousands, even millions of people that have just as much potential or more, but we will never see a video of them telling inspirational stories about obstacles overcome in their life. Brick walls? Go ask people living in poverty about brick walls; I'm sure they are more than happy to see the inside of four brick walls any chance they can.

Strange Bloggers

I commented on Kimberly Windham's post about Sir Ken Robinson. She made some good points covering the budget side of the issue. She also made a viable point that Sir Ken doesn't really offer an adequate or possible solution to the problem and that creative activities should be added to the teaching methods we already have. While this is a short-term solution, it doesn't cover the larger issues at hand, like why the teaching method in place is in place to beging with. I next commented on Mary Hutson's blog about Ken Robinson. She made an interesting observation about the focus being more on prescribing medication for learning disabilities rather than on the learning disabilities themselves. We've been treating individuals too long, its time to start treating the issue. Lastly, I commented on what Robbie

Past Podcasts

Honestly, all the podcasts I listened to had one thing in common; they were all, for the most part, kind of boring. I realize, as a current student, that the attitude in making these was for completion's sake only, but, it would be nice to hear a little personality from time to time. Every podacst was, of course, scripted, but it didn't have to sound like it was. Why would I ever want to hear someone or watch someone read from a piece of paper; why can't I just read the paper myself?
Podcasts should have a more conversational feel; there needs to be some interaction that is not necessarily scripted or planned out. New ideas should be presented and genuine reactions should be discussed; take the conversation somewhere and let it be a conversation, not a commercial. As for the video podcasts I watched, make me see that there is a reason I am watching a video instead of listening or reading, please; there has to be ways to make a handful of people talking amongst themselves more interesting.