I was born in a rural community in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. Many people might think I would be culture shocked coming to live in a city for my college education. On the contrary, I have traveled to Romania, China, Germany, England, India and a few countries in Africa. I have also traveled to Mississippi, Middle Earth and Outer Space. Well, maybe I have not been to any of these places physically. I have, however, read about them and so I feel like I have been there in some way. Other than going to school and playing soccer there was not a lot to do in my hometown. I spent a lot of my youth reading for entertainment and I cannot say I regret a single book. Through books, I learned so much about people, places, ideas, and events that I never felt like I would have really missed television. Don’t get me wrong, I love movies. I just believe in books and everything they have to offer us. It is my love of books that has lead me to study literature and the composition of it. It is my love for and interest in people that has lead me to teaching. As I finish my last year at UNCG, I look forward to the future of sharing my love of books with students. Hopefully, they will see what books can do for them.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Where I Am From And Where I Want To Go
I was born in a rural community in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. Many people might think I would be culture shocked coming to live in a city for my college education. On the contrary, I have traveled to Romania, China, Germany, England, India and a few countries in Africa. I have also traveled to Mississippi, Middle Earth and Outer Space. Well, maybe I have not been to any of these places physically. I have, however, read about them and so I feel like I have been there in some way. Other than going to school and playing soccer there was not a lot to do in my hometown. I spent a lot of my youth reading for entertainment and I cannot say I regret a single book. Through books, I learned so much about people, places, ideas, and events that I never felt like I would have really missed television. Don’t get me wrong, I love movies. I just believe in books and everything they have to offer us. It is my love of books that has lead me to study literature and the composition of it. It is my love for and interest in people that has lead me to teaching. As I finish my last year at UNCG, I look forward to the future of sharing my love of books with students. Hopefully, they will see what books can do for them.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Philosophy of Education
I believe an education should prepare students to become productive citizens of society by promoting action fueled by knowledge. An education prepares people for the world around them, equipping them with a variety of tools to assist in their success. Success is not determined by any specific achievement. An education enables the student to choose what success means to them whether it be fixing cars or running a corporation. Students must be able to connect their education to the real world and an educator should help guide students to utilize their wealth of knowledge by applying it to everyday situations. Knowledge is wasted if it is not connected to action. With a constantly evolving education students can explore and understand their own potential and achieve it.
The foundation that an education requires is the desire to learn. The student is the key contributor to his or her own education. Educators must fuel the desire to learn and teach with the intent of extracting the student’s current knowledge and helping them add to it. Literacy is an essential tool that the student can utilize; an educator holds the responsibility of promoting functional literacy to aid the student’s growth. In academic literacy, reading and writing serve as the vehicle to excel. Reading leads to the discovery of new knowledge and activates prior knowledge. Writing as a form of thinking achieves the same result. By utilizing reading, writing, peer collaboration, teacher instruction and critical thinking, an education is endlessly constructed. Building understanding is much like building a house; it happens in stages, takes many different materials, and requires some hard work and motivation. Brazilian Educator Paulo Freire states, “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” With the right foundation students can relate to current situations and thus contribute to their own education and ultimately, society.
A literate student can then access endless amounts of knowledge as well as express his/her own ideas. The student must understand how to gain their own knowledge and the teacher acts as a facilitator in this process. Bias thinking is practically inevitable as educators are only human. It is crucial to relate information in a way that maintains neutrality, however, encourages a student to ponder subjects and create their own views. Directing the student through their own collective journey and helping them build on their foundation of knowledge is the ultimate goal of a teacher.
The foundation that an education requires is the desire to learn. The student is the key contributor to his or her own education. Educators must fuel the desire to learn and teach with the intent of extracting the student’s current knowledge and helping them add to it. Literacy is an essential tool that the student can utilize; an educator holds the responsibility of promoting functional literacy to aid the student’s growth. In academic literacy, reading and writing serve as the vehicle to excel. Reading leads to the discovery of new knowledge and activates prior knowledge. Writing as a form of thinking achieves the same result. By utilizing reading, writing, peer collaboration, teacher instruction and critical thinking, an education is endlessly constructed. Building understanding is much like building a house; it happens in stages, takes many different materials, and requires some hard work and motivation. Brazilian Educator Paulo Freire states, “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” With the right foundation students can relate to current situations and thus contribute to their own education and ultimately, society.
A literate student can then access endless amounts of knowledge as well as express his/her own ideas. The student must understand how to gain their own knowledge and the teacher acts as a facilitator in this process. Bias thinking is practically inevitable as educators are only human. It is crucial to relate information in a way that maintains neutrality, however, encourages a student to ponder subjects and create their own views. Directing the student through their own collective journey and helping them build on their foundation of knowledge is the ultimate goal of a teacher.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
This I Believe...
I believe that only though challenging students can we see their full potential.
I believe that teachers should be just as open to learning as they expect their students to be.
I believe that gaining an education is like building a house. It is put together brick by brick with windows on all sides to get a view of all perspectives, and like a house, an education can always gain a new extension.
I believe that no one knows it all but we all know something.
I believe that teachers should be just as open to learning as they expect their students to be.
I believe that gaining an education is like building a house. It is put together brick by brick with windows on all sides to get a view of all perspectives, and like a house, an education can always gain a new extension.
I believe that no one knows it all but we all know something.
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