Video Responses

Leveling the Playing Field

Are we giving our students everything they need to know? Or, are we telling them? As teachers, we have all been taught the scaffolding method, where we slowly relinquish control over the learning to the students. This method comes in handy with those students who struggle comprehending the concept. The textbooks that many teachers use today continue with this process.  Upon watching the video by math teacher, Dan Meyer, I strongly began to question this commonly used "best practice". In essence, we are teaching our students how to answer questions from a textbook, but we are not teaching them how to apply their knowledge in order to solve real-world problems or questions. Real-world applications that do not result in an answer from the back of the book, will enable students to use their prior knowledge to make connections in their learning. The result of this being, a student who is now eager to actively participate in classroom discussions- one who has now found his/her mathematical (educational) voice- one who will now take this educational confidence to further him/herself academically.

As a principal, my goal would be to have an environment where learning had meaning for every student. I would provide my staff with professional development geared towards making their students intellectualists. I would hope to have a student population who thinks about their learning and strives to make connections to their everyday lives.

 A Vision of 21st Century Learners

Are you a digital native? Or a digital immigrant? In today's society of educators, many are the latter. These teachers have not had the opportunity to have total immersion in technology, which leads to an inability to apply it in their classrooms. Our students are in a sense bilingual. They are completely engrossed in a day and age where information is transmitted at lightning speed via a portal that can fit into the palm of their still forming hands. Yet, they are expected to learn in environments that are comparable to that of the "bag car phone".  Are we serving these students to the best of our abilities? Or are we in essence placing a glass ceiling above them due to our technological inadequacies?

As principal, my vision would be to have a school where the use of blogs, wikis, pod casts, etc. are common occurrences. My students and teachers would be able to converse across the globe to acquire first-hand knowledge rather than obtain information via a textbook. These medias will ensure that all students will be more competitive in the global market.

Thinking Globally

Last year, my students sang a song entitled "One Nation". Hearing their voices sending a resounding message that we are united brought tears to the eyes of every adult spectator. Many times, we do not believe that our students are aware of the situations that are occurring globally. Or, we believe that they are too concerned with their own personal lives to have empathy for others. This could not be further from the truth. They are aware of what is going on; however, there are many instances where this knowledge is not cultivated. By providing our students with opportunities to learn about the various societies and cultures we are in turn creating a population who is more empathetic and cultured.

As a principal, I would have my students participate in a World Fair. This would be an opportunity for the students to become experts in a particular country or region. Through the use of technology, the students will gather information regarding their country- one major point being how their country is connected with ours.