Blog Post # 10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate

    “Do You Teach or Do You Educate” is an interesting video that highlights the differences between a teacher and an educator. The video incorporates pictures and music to further highlight the differences between a teacher and an educator.

    The video begins with a classroom of emptiness. It provides many definitions of the word “teach,” each highlighted with a picture symbolizing a barrier. For example, it shows pictures of an impassible brick wall, metal plates, a wood floor, and even a lock to make the point that to teach is uninspiring. Students can learn from a teacher, but are they really learning, or are they simply recalling facts?

    As the video moves to showcase an educator, the music changes to a faster beat and the pictures are ones that contain more color and inspire growth and life. There are pictures of flowers, plants, trees, and brick walls that can be climbed over.

    The video uses symbolism to reinforce the idea that teachers need to be educators. We need to inspire our students. We need to guide students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. Just like the picture used in the video presentation of the tree-lined trail leading to the brick wall, we need to show students the way. But, ultimately, they have to figure out how to get over the brick wall. As a teacher, I plan on educating my students by providing opportunities to collaborate, explore, and crate projects using a variety of resources, especially technology-based.

Tom Johnson’s Don’t Let Them Take the Pencils Home!

    In Tom Johnson’s post, he tells a story of Gertrude. She works with school curriculum and is worried that students who use “pencils” will have lower test scores. These students come from low income families that see “pencils” as a form of entertainment. Their parents are not familiar with “pencils,” so they don’t understand their purpose. Gertrude plans to meet with the parents and students to tell them about the “pencils.”

    I think Tom Johnson used a great metaphor in his post. He compared pencils to computers. Both can be a form of entertainment and both can give the perception that they have no value for education because they can be entertaining. I agree with him that parents need to be informed on the value of computers in education. Computers are tools just like pencils. They can help students learn. I believe that the more parents are informed on the value of computers in our classrooms, the more that they will embrace the idea. After all, the goal and focus should be on the education of our youth. In order to keep pace with the technological changes in the world, teachers must utilize the technological schools available to them in the classroom. It is not going away.