So, I find myself buried in work. Between classes (both online and in person) and raising twin girls (almost 4 now!), it seems like free time is hard to come by. Regardless, I am getting things done though not without a few struggles. Not a complaint; just an observation. It feels like I have a pretty good grasp on the technology we are exploring for my Principles of Instructional Technology class. I enjoyed putting together the interactive Glogster poster as well as the Kidspiration program for visual learning. Being visually oriented person myself, they had a lot of appeal for me.
I do feel like I have enough background in technology that most of the work in this class does not feel like a daunting task. Time, it seems, is my main concern and managing it seems like the bigger challenge at times.
Having worked in the professional world working for various companies and organizations both as a manager and a "worker" (though I find that term distasteful, because it smacks of classism; everyone works, but I digress), those experiences have taught me how mange time and get tasks done by a deadline. All of this without the benefit of a college education.
You may be wondering where am I going with all this. In a roundabout way, all of this got me to thinking about how we view education. How much it actually matters (much depends on your point of view and situation). My experience in life after high school did not include going to college (until now of course). I graduated HS in 1985 (that makes me pretty old to some) and I spent about a semester in a community college majoring in advertising art and illustration. At the time, it wasn't for me. I went to work in retail (briefly) before getting into a data entry job that lead to learning how to do computer-aided drafting, which I continued to do for 20+ years. I did it well, I was successful and I learned a lot by doing. I felt I kept myself engaged with what was going on in the world and was well informed on many other subjects as well.
No one who knew me thought I was uneducated, in fact a had several friends admit to being shocked to learn I did not go to college. So, what does it mean to be an educated person? I read the preceding link a week ago and it got me thinking about all of this. Am I just really intelligent? (Not going to touch that one).Was the quality of my public school education so good that I was able to make it in the world for so long without a college degree? If one were to look at my grades one might conclude that I was nothing more that an average student (certainly during middle and high school). While my later grades might not reflect it I imagine that my early years in school actually did lay down a pretty good foundation for me. I guess my point here is that a strong foundation early in a person's education might make a bigger impact later in life. Learning a trade is just as important as getting a college education. Does college make one an educated person? Is it proficiency in current technology? Or is it something else; a combination of things?
Perhaps all these musings are just my attempt to further define my personal philosophy on education and how it will impact me as a teacher. Like most things, it will always be a work in progress.
Scott, loved the post. I truly believe that a strong early foundation makes a huge impact later in life. I believe it is because I learned so much in adolescence that I was able to be successful without a college education. I went to an inner city private school that taught me values that have guided me through life. I had a great base although I tripped up in high school and never graduated. Circumstances had me on my own as a teen and out of high school my junior year. I never did go away to college. I had a heck of a grade school education and one good freshman year in high school, and somehow that was enough for me to get by. Much like you, people are surprised that I didn't go to college. The foundation provided to us gave us the ability to survive without a degree. Something else to ponder, our life experiences thus far have better prepared us to become great teachers. There is no substitute for having been out in the world. We can stand in front of these students as examples of people that have gone back to school later in life. Although we may have had roundabout paths, we made education a priority and pursued our dreams. Make no mistake about it, a college degree is what allows us to become teachers. It is up to us as individuals to take our education (from both college and life experiences) and turn that into becoming an inspiration to our students.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nick. After having said all that, my intent was not to diminish younger teachers who might be entering the workforce for the first time as a professional. I merely thought that there are many dimensions to education that should leave nothing to be taken for granted or discounted.
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