A Method to the Madness

I was searching around the internet the other day looking for a website that a heard about in class, teachertube.com. At first I thought Dr. Smirnova was joking when she said it because it sounded so funny, but when I made my way over the the website it was pretty amazing. It has videos, pictures, and even documents for teachers from all over just trying to help each other out. I decided to click on most popular videos just to see what would come up, and I was really surprised at what I found. A video popped up that simply said, "Pay Attention." The entire video is a black screen with white words floating across the page, but the information is incredible. After watching the video it got me thinking about the past week and why we were doing what we did in class. Why did we have to find an article about science in the news? Why did we create podcasts of our scientist interviews? Why do we have to make posts on our blog?

Even though I sort of already knew many of these answers, the video I watched reaffirmed everything I believed. We grew up in an age of exploding technology and instead of trying to beat it, we need to join it. At the beginning of this week, I have to admit I was beginning to get a little overwhelmed. Between the moon log and the chapters and the posts and the projects and the presentations, it all seemed to catch up to me very quickly. I mean I looked at the calender and it was 'week 5' already? I couldn't believe it. But between listening to Dr. Smirnova's former student and watching this video, everything became extremely clear. The work we are doing is for us, not for any one else. The fact the Dr. Smirnova sees that and helps us along the way, it's just really refreshing. I think the reason most of us felt completely overwhelmed at the beginning of this class was because we aren't used to having a professor who isn't concerned about just grades, but also our success. We have proven we can all be good students, but can we be good learners? It is a question I will continue to ask myself probably for a long time until I am able to find the answer.

In the end, this week was kind of a break through. Everything I do from now on will be for me, and my career. The blogs, the podcasts, the smart board, the research, the internet, the technology...it is all worth it. We are going to be teaching kids who have been born into a world of instant gratification and being constantly entertained. It is up to us, as future teachers, to do what we have to do and learn everything we can so we can reach and teach every child. I truly believe Dr. Smirnova is helping us make that happen.