Mr. Winkle Wakes

What would you do if you woke up 100 years in the future? Would you expect everything to be the same? How would you feel if everything was different? It would be overwhelming that's for sure, but you would adapt. Mr. Winkle woke up 100 years later and discovered big buildings with weird noises, strange machines that kept people alive, and devices that allowed you to talk to someone half way across the world. This was all too much for Mr. Winkle. He had to leave and walked what seemed like forever before he came to a school. This school had new technology, but other than that it all seemed the same to him. It gave him comfort that nothing had changed in the schools. 

This however, gives me great heartache. I think I would be extremely depressed if I saw nothing had changed in the schools and the way we teach. We need to be constantly finding new and better ways to teach to our students. If 100 hundred years has past and they were still using the same textbooks and the same lesson plans, then that would be apauling. I would want to wake up and find out that all textbooks were electronic and every student had an ipad to use for homework. I would want to see flying cars and cures for cancer and all diseases. Change is scary to most everyone, but change is one of the most beautiful things we can experience. Our students deserve to live in a world that is constantly evolving for the greater good of this world. If we can't strive to do that, then what's the point of all this learning and technology? Mr. Winkle may have been scared and seen too much change, but in time he would have adapted, like we all do.  

How can you make your classroom better?

The video "10 Big Ideas for Better Classrooms" will leave you eager to wanting to change the future of your classroom. Every year students are growing and being introduced to so many new things and this video eleborates on what you can do as a teacher to help your students. The video gave 10 big ideas. They were project based learning, integrated studies, cooperative learning, comprehensive assessment, intellectual and emotional guide, teaching as apprenticeship, technology, resources, parents, and community partners. All of these combined make up a great way to better the learning in the classroom. To help a child learn better you need the teachers, parents, and communities help. The saying, "It takes a village to raise a child" is very accurate. They were on to something there. Students need hands on projects, teamwork, and real world experience to really understand and actually carry with them the information. Students need to know their parents care and the teachers are there for them. Rewarding students for showing up everyday and conducting positive behavior deserves a reward. 

I want my students to know I care about them. If they don't understand a question I want them to feel comfortable in asking me or another student for help. I don't want them to feel embarrassed for not knowing an answer, because we have all been there. Being a kid is tough and if I can make their learning experience easier, then I will do everything in my power to do just that. I want all of my students to remember projects we did from 2 years ago and wake up every morning excited about school. By doing hands on projects that involve real life data and experiences will give them a head start into their future. It will help them to develop skills some of us didn't learn until college or even after we've started our careers. A lot of people learn by touching things, seeing things, and building things. If students can work together on their strengths and weaknesses, then they can build each other up. This applies to the teachers as well. We as teachers can help each other with our weaknesses and congratulate us on our strengths. Sitting in on a lesson and observing each other can only help us to becoming the teacher our students need. It's all about the future of our children and the future of this world.