Blog Post #10

Do You Teach Or Do You Educate?

The above question should probably say, "Will I teach or will I educate?"  That may be a question that could have a different answer depending on whom you ask.  The reason I say that is that one student who just loves me and has done well in my class might say that I educated them.  Another student for some unknown reason, may say that I just taught them.  There are some people you just "get" in having personalities that get along well with each other, and others that simply exist.  I may be getting a little deep, but let me explain.

I taught riding lessons for over twenty years.  It was my passion.  I taught every day, and had eight to ten private lessons daily.  I rarely took a day off, unless it was due to a broken bone.  And that was just to have it set and then I was right back out at the barn. I had students who started out because they loved horses, and thru their learning of not just about riding, but also horse care, they saw that I cared about if they truly understood  concepts.  My students and I talked.  We had conversations about not just horses, but school and family.  My students knew that I actually listened. I would explain to them that good horsemanship and sportsmanship also transferred to other things outside the barn.  Riding is a team effort of horse and rider.  Communication has to pass between the two.  Each has to learn to read one another.  Good riders learn to feel.

I have letters from students which I have framed. They have meant so much to me because I knew I did more than just teach them how to ride.  I was their mentor.  I educated them. Again, not just about horses but life lessons.  So, I will go back to the question, "Will I teach, or will I educate?"  I chose education because I loved to educate students about something in which I cared deeply.  I am grateful for a previous degree, and a previous unofficial teaching career, but an official education degree will help me touch more lives in an academic atmosphere.  I will be a mentor to them too.


Don't Let Them Take Their Pencils Home: Tom Johnson

Who's idea was it to stigmatize and label students as incapable of learning?  Someone who had esteem issues obviously.  Every child can learn.  Some may need a little more help but that is fine. Not everyone learns the same way.  I had to think about this post for a while, because I just was not getting it.  Does that mean I shouldn't take a pencil home?  On the contrary, I should have one with me all the time.

Tom Johnson's post, "Don't Let Them Take Their Pencils Home" is fraught with sarcasm.  The teacher has let his students take their writing utensil home.  I would think that would be common.  The administration wants to keep the low standards and to keep the students in a category labeled as under achievers. She is used to that idea.  Why change?  The teacher actually wants to achieve higher academic testing scores by having the students use their pencils.  And actually use them for other than filling in bubbles on standardized tests.  The teacher feels if they practice, learning will increase.  What a novel concept!