What is Worth Learning?

 As future teachers, I think most of us would answer this question with "everything!" However, there is definitely not enough time in the year to do this. To help combat the lack of time, I think the best thing we can do is to make the effort to hit the "biggest/most relevant" topics to our kids, and offer them many different perspectives to allow students to make their own deductions and opinions. All students are unique, each coming from different backgrounds with different resources, and as teachers it is our job to make sure we are catering to all of our students. This is a very big responsibility, and as teachers we need to be well educated in the methods required to accommodate all of our students. Becoming a teacher also means becoming a leader, and a role model for our students. According to Champlain College, a leaders job is to create an "inspiring vision of the future." and with that vision, we must "motivate and inspire" people to engage with that vision. we are also responsible for explaining the vision in a way that will make others want to share. A good teacher or leader needs to create a sense of togetherness within their classroom. A connected classroom creates a positive learning environment, where students feel comfortable asking questions and sharing personal information that could relate the the content. By doing this, students can connect to what is being taught, and they can learn empathy by listening to each other. This empathy will help to combat biases and foster open conversation in the youth. I believe that students will learn more from listening to each other than they would learn from us, and teaching them how to listen is so important for this development. 

Comments

  1. Emily LipeApril 21, 2023 at 6:04 PM

    Hi Lilli! I like how you are realistic in your post, there is so much for our students to learn and just truly not enough time. I think you have a good solution, teaching broad concepts and allowing our students to interpret situations and come up with their own feelings and opinions about them. I also agree that creating a connected classroom is incredibly important. With a connected classroom, all students feel valid and seen, which is a big goal I have as a teacher. I love how you talk about how learning empathy can help to combat unfair biases before children form them, this is not something I had previously thought of explicitly, but it makes a lot of sense! Great post!

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    1. Lilli MasseyApril 21, 2023 at 8:39 PM

      Hi Emily, thank you for your response! I think that teaching our students empathy is so important, because in my experience, the students who have learned to be aware of others feelings generally are more open to having open discussions, and are able to learn from each other much more successfully. I think Scaffolding is a great way to teach broad topics, because we can start with the basics, and then delve deeper into what each component of the material means, and how it effects our own lives. This also allows for a lot of discussion and critical thinking for our students, which allows them to make their own educated deductions and opinions.

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  2. Alex MartinezApril 21, 2023 at 6:13 PM

    Hey Lillie, thank you for you blog this week! I appreciate your perspective on the role of teachers as leaders and role models. Creating an inspiring vision of the future and motivating students to engage with that vision is a significant aspect of effective teaching. Explaining the vision in an engaging way that encourages students to share and participate is essential also highlight the importance of creating a sense of togetherness in the classroom. A connected classroom where students feel comfortable asking questions and sharing personal information fosters a positive learning environment. This allows students to connect with the content and learn empathy by listening to each other, which can combat biases and encourage open conversation.

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    1. Lilli MasseyApril 21, 2023 at 8:44 PM

      Hi Alex, thank you for your feedback this week! I have always been told that in a leadership role, you have to give 115% more energy and enthusiasm, because our audience/students will only give us around 75% of that energy back to us. If we want our students to be engaged in their learning, we need to be more excited about the content we are teaching than we may be outside of the classroom. Having a comfortable and connected classroom will also allow our students to listen to and share their knowledge with each other.

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