The above blog was about how both teachers and students can experience a “slump,” during their careers/education in which they feel unmotivated and lack the energy to keep on working.   The author points out that everyone experiences the slump at different times– some people start out with great enthusiasm and motivation, but then are unable to keep going at that pace.  Others begin at a low energy pace that allows them to burn out quickly.   Whether you are a teacher or student, we all will experience a slump at some point in our lives, usually more than once!  It is inevitable.   If we all are aware of the “slump phenomenon,” then we can take steps to try to prevent it, or establish a routine in which to escape it.  As a teacher, I know the steps I can take for myself to both avoid and get out of a slump.  For example, when I feel a slump coming on, I take a break from lesson planning, grading papers, whatever, and go do something outside, whether it is going on a bike ride, reading a book on my porch (not related to teaching!), etc.  It helps to remind myself that whatever it is I’m stressing out about will most likely be completely out of my mind by next week….so just keep on truckin’!   It also is a huge help to the mind to think about having those 3 wondeful summer months off.  There is no way I could teach without those 3 months.  Just knowing that it is there keeps my “slump levels” down!    As a teacher, I am also aware that my students will experience a slump.  This always seems to occur in May, when the weather feels like summer is here…but they still have over a month of school left.  Knowing this, I try to plan fun activities to keep them interested, like our Economics Bake Sale, for example.   We also have our school-wide Olympics Day, and next year we’ll have a talent show. It’s impossible to completely avoid slumps entirely, but there are certainly things you can do to help yourself and your students get through them quickly! 

The above blog dealt with the cultural differences in education.  For example, In U.S. classrooms, there is a higher level of student-teacher interaction, than there is in some foreign counties.   Students are encouraged to ask questions and to actively participate in the lesson, rather than the teacher simply lecturing.  The environment in other countries is often more formal and teacher-centered.   Similarly, in the U.S., teachers are aware of students’ individual needs, and are likely to adapt their teaching to them; however in other counties, teachers tend to teach in one way only, regardless of what their students’ needs are.  On the flip side however, the author notes that in the U.S., there is a greater emphasis on assessment and evaluation, rather than on the learning process.  I can certainly see this, with the implementation of No Child Left Behind.  I thought this was an interesting post– it serves as a reminder that there is not just one way to do education, and that there are positive and negatives any way you look at it.   Educators should be open-minded into looking at the way other countries view education, and we all could bring in new ideas and viewpoints to our classrooms. 

The blog above was about how teachers need to focus on helping students find and pursue their passion.    I completely agree that the passion teachers show toward a subject definitely rubs off on the students.  If I am excited about something, it helps them to be excited as well.  Since I teach all 6 subjects in a self-contained classroom, it is often challenging to show passion for everything I teach.   I often wonder if students (and teachers) would be better off if everyone taught only the subjects they were passionate about.

      The author writes, ”If I am really serious about helping my students find ideas and topics they are passionate about, I need to forget about my course content and step outside that ‘comfort zone of content.’ ” Is it possible to forget about the course content when teachers are forced to madly prepare their students for the standardized state tests?   How can teachers balance this?  It is certainly a time-crunch having to cover the state’s content framework, and it honestly feels like we are teaching to the test.  From September until mid-March, we move down the list of objectives, trying to get all of them checked off before testing.  This leaves little time for the fun stuff– stuff that the students would have opportunities to develop a passion for.  But from the end of March through May, that is when teachers can unveil their passion,  tap into students’ interests, and truly teach.   It is a shame that only can last for about 2 months.    I feel like I am doing an injustice to my students– like I am not teaching them to my best ability because of the testing burden hanging over our heads.  Social Studies is slowly getting squeezed out right now because it is not tested.  So why waste time on something that won’t be on the test?  This is not how teaching should be…. I feel like the state testing is squeezing out passion, from both teachers and students.

The blog I read (see above link) was called, “Why Removing Technology From Your Classroom will Improve Student Learning.”  It caught my eye, because it appeared to say exactly the opposite of what we’ve been learning in this cohort!  The blog discusses the benefits of using technology before and after instruction, but not during.   Instead of having students waste valuable class time spend behind a computer, teachers should plan an engaging lesson, but create extensions that give students opportunities to learn outside the classroom, like through blog discussions.  I thought these ideas were very appropriate for high-school and college-age students.   I teach 4th grade, and I wonder how I could apply some of these concepts to the younger grade-levels.   I think that if I developed a class blog, for example, there would have to be some degree of parental guidance/involvement.  I don’t think emailing would be appropriate, but posting announcements and links would be.   I would have to be sure to assign “screennames,” because of the students’ ages.  But I think this would be an excellent way to enhance communication lines between myself and parents, as well as provide extensions and resources to students that connect to what we are learning.