Today was the first class of fall 2019. Here we go, another semester, another step closer to becoming a teacher.
We spent the majority of our class on activities and games to get us thinking about science and working together. We made name tags and decorated them with science stickers. Then we got to be creative and draw a picture of a scientist. I chose to draw a picture of my favorite scientist, my middle sister, Hannah. She is an ecologist that studies plants in the Pantanel, Brazil's largest wetland. I always pictured her with her binoculars, and field note pad kayaking through a flat swamp, waiting for visitors to frequent her plant of study.
Here is the plant she studied, being visited by a friendly pollinator
There she is in the distance, trudging through the wetlands
After we drew our scientists, we were asked to walk around and peruse our classmates interpretations. I twas interesting to see my classmates interpretations of scientists and the stereotypes surrounding them.
Next we played a game where we had card taped to our foreheads and had to guess what was written on our cards.
(I feel like I've seen this game before...)
In all seriousness, I really liked this game and could see it being engaging and fun as an icebreaker in a classroom. I think it would really resonate with older elementary schoolers, and the vocabulary could be used to fit any subject.
Our grouping for that game turned out to be our group for the semester. The four members of my group are tasked with engineering and design. I am excited about this prospect because it is such an important field for our future. Inspiring young minds to think about how they can use their knowledge to change the world. One aspect of this field that particularly interests me, is environmental engineering and design. This encompasses alternative energy, recycling, and the overall task of saving our planet from complete and utter destruction. No pressure.
Dr. Smirnova mentioned some videos.
Vision of Students
This video highlighted a lot of good points. Students in today's classrooms are expected to perform manual tasks for a digital world when they're in school. Teachers do not always support the technology that students are skilled at using. This mindset is not preparing them for a increasingly global, and digital world. Students today will encounter problems that have not even been thought of yet, and they will need creative and adaptable solutions to overcome them. As teachers, we should be supporting our learners as they navigate this world instead of letting them leave us behind in the pre-digital age.
Did you know?
Watching this video reminded me of this article I read from the Washington Post. The article contained this image:
The graphic states that more people live within this circle than outside. According to the article, this is true, 51.4% of humans on earth live here. These countries were mentioned in the video as major competitors for jobs and resources. On a side note, this area of our planet is highly impacted by storms and weather events are are exacerbated by climate change. If we do not come up with a solution to this global threat, half the world could be climate refugees. How could we possible prepare our students for that reality?
The video also mentions that the jobs market has changed considerably in ten years (2004-2014, I am sure it has also changed again in the six years since 2014). Not only are new jobs created by this change, but other jobs are just obsolete. Automation, globalization, or just failure to adapt to a changing world created a whole new economic landscape. As teachers, we need to mold creative thinkers who can adapt to change and navigate a world we haven't seen yet.
Do Schools Kill Creativity
I really liked this video. I think the speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, clearly conveys his message peppered with some humor. I see that creativity is undervalued in schools, it is relegated to a small art classroom visited once a week, and the first thing in the budget to go in hard times. We tell kids to be realistic, not artistic.
The story he told about the broadway choreographer reminded me in a small way of my own cousin. My cousin could not sit still. He was fidgety, could not stay on task, always climbing things, and constantly reprimanded by his teachers. His parents did not see an issue with his behavior at home, but they were willing to try anything to improve his grades. He was diagnosed with ADHD, put on medication for a couple of years. I remember him during this time, he loved to climb trees, he loved to run and had so much fun energy. When he was on medication, he stayed in his room, read books, and was not social. In high school, he came off the medication, took up cross country running and never stopped climbing trees. Now he works as an arborist, climbing trees, trimming them, and keeping them healthy. I am grateful that his parents did not squash his creativity, his gross motor movement and his energy. He was not broken, he was meant to climb trees.
No comments:
Post a Comment