Phenomenal women

In celebration of women's month I'd like to thank you for what you mean to me, you might not know this but I get my strength from every strong woman I've encountered, and you are definitely one of them. Your love for your own, your resilience, your faith, your sense of forgiveness, your endurance..it's like nothing I've seen before and this is what I truly admire about you. Things might not be what we want them to be, but one thing I know for sure is that you, yes you were meant to cross my path, I'm such a better person knowing you. I might not ever be able to show the strength that you do, but know this, I admire you and with women like you paving the way, I have so much to look forward to. Thank you, no really Thank You for being You!
I truly admire you.
Love
Lizett

Who are you?

Who am I? A question most people will be able to answer immediately. Without even thinking about it. I am Peter…Easy hey? Not really, because there might be a million other Peters’ and you’re name, like many other things in life does not define who you are.

Growing up, most of us defined ourselves by where we live, our parents, our friends, our spiritual conviction, the amount of money we have, the schools we attend, our race and gender etc. The list goes on and on and on. But is this really who we are and how do we change this view about ourselves? This way of thinking has caused so much division, heartache and pain for a lot of us. 

This usually leads to people putting on masks to fit into a certain situation, group, class etc. and this is where we start to loose ourselves piece by piece. This to me, truly is the saddest part of life today. Trying to fit into someone else’s puzzle and losing yourself in the process.

We need to start telling people that their life is enough, they have enough and that they ARE ENOUGH! I know this might sound like an impossible task but we have to start somewhere, otherwise we’ll all end up being empty vessels with masks on our faces. This is not a good enough life to live. This is not how it’s supposed to be. We deserve more, so much more.

 You are not all those feeble classifications that I mentioned earlier. You are what you want in life. You are how you choose to live your life. You are how you treat people. You are the relationships you choose to have. Some days you are a hot mess and some days you are flawless. Some days you dress up and arrive and some days you stay in bed and don’t brush your hair. Just remember that no ONE THING can determine your worth as a person. Because even if you feel like nothing you will always be something to someone and even more to another person.

Just another wandering soul

Who is to blame?

Who is to blame?

The continued decrease in respect at schools is alarming but who is to blame? This clearly didn't happen over night, but rather over several years and through several laws that has been implemented. There is no doubt about it, discipline started to deteriorate after teachers lost the right to physically discipline pupils. I know a lot of you will disagree with me and this debate could go on for years (wait, it actually have been going on for years) but you have to agree that we didn't have these problems 25 years ago. I do understand that some teachers did abuse this right and punished learners to the point of them being seriously physically abused, but totally removing corporal punishment from schools has had a great impact on the disrespect, violence and even decrease in marks at schools. Teachers can't function optimally if they don't have control over classrooms. There needs to be some way of forcing children to respect teachers and allow for optimal teaching to take place. I guess I can rant all day about this but the likelihood that corporal punishment will return is basically ZERO, seeing that parents aren't even allowed to discipline their children at home.

Then we also have the parents. What is their role in discipline at schools. It's almost impossible to teach a child who does not have a background of learning and who doesn't see the importance of an education. We as teachers are faced with problems that originate in the communities our children come from. These learners idealize criminals and drug dealers, not doctors and lawyers. This makes it very difficult to teach them, because they are not in school for the right reasons but rather to trade with drugs and built gangs. Parents don't give their support to teaching staff and hardly ever attend school meetings or events, unless they feel that their child is being treated unfairly. They always seem to be on the defense and seem to work against the schools, rather than with the schools. This negative attitude towards schools rubs off on their children without them realizing it and soon enough we all sit with an extremely serious problem (parents included). Everything really does start at home and parents need to start accepting responsibility for their children and do their part in educating them, with RESPECT being the most important value that needs to be addressed.

Okay, that was a mouthful and with everything being said, I don't wish to take any responsibility from schools and teaches because without a doubt we also have a role to play. We can only expect to be respected by learners if we treat them with respect. We should also try not to treat learners a certain way, due to their history or behavior in another class or grade but we should try to start anew with each learner. This however does not mean that we have to give learners endless chances and let them walk all over us.

We are currently in a very dark place in our country but if we fail our children and our education system fails (which is what is busy happening), we might as well give up now.
Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

-A concerned teacher

Involve the Learner

The only way a class can operate successfully is when everyone in the class has a valid say in how the class will operate. Children know best what they want and need and including them in decisions regarding how things need to be done and what is expected of the class is the best way to make sure that efficient teaching and learning takes place.

Teachers should be aware of the backgrounds of the learners in their class in order to effectively teach these learners. Teachers should encourage learners to openly communicate like the video by Foley 2014 states. In order for this to happen, students need to feel safe and comfortable to talk to their teacher. Teachers should also establish a good relationship with to parents of the learners as this will help better communication and also involve parents in the education of their children.

Effective teaching practices is essential to ensure that learners have the best possible chance to be successful and to make sure that they reach their full potential. Time should therefore be used optimally and key objectives need to be prioritized. These practices should include both academic and social aspects. It is impossible to only focus on academics in a classroom because we have to focus on the learner as a whole. Learners spent most of their time at school and teachers should therefore try to help them develop in all aspects of life. Learners should also be able to say what they would like to contribute to the class.

Resources should be used to enhance the teaching and learning experience rather than taking away from effective communication. There are so many ways to use technology in the classroom these days and information is literally a click away. We should however be very careful when using these resources and try to get the inputs of the learners as to what will work for them. You can maybe ask them which social media they prefer to get their homework on or how they would prefer to submit assignments.

The article by Wills 2015 is a good example of how teaching and learning works better when the teacher involves the learners in the process. It also shows when given the chance, learners will choose the right thing to do.

Optimal learning is therefore only possible when learners have a say in the way their classes are structured.

Can learners teach themselves?

I think most of us was raised to believe that the teacher knows everything and that the learner knows nothing. This perception has carried over from generation to generation and it is only in recent times that people are beginning to question this.

It is only this year that I myself have started to look at the whole education system differently and has started to question whether or not we are doing it right. High dropout rates and low pass rates is a good indicator that the current way things are being done is not working. It is time that we as educators look at alternative ways to educate and how to better involve the learners.

After watching The Independent Project my mind was literally blown! Well not literally but the documentary really opened my eyes to alternative ways of teaching. I now believe that learners know best what they want and that they will definitely learn more efficiently if they are in control of their own learning process. The Independent Project showed that learners who were failing and who hated school, were able to do exceptionally well when they were in control of their own education.

Most schools are structured in a way that prohibits learners from being creative and thinking for themselves. They rather force learners to study subjects that they hate and have no interest in. I think we all can see how this is a problem. By letting learners do what they enjoy will automatically make them excel in that field. It is also important to consider what students want to do after school when deciding what subjects they should take in school.

The statement made in the article by Hamilton, “Teachers have plenty to learn and students have plenty to teach.” might not be accepted by many because teachers would like to think that they know more than their students, after all they did study at a university and have a degree to prove that they are educated. The problem with this is that if teachers don’t acknowledge the fact that learners have a lot to bring to the table in a teaching setting they are already failing at their job.

If teachers are not familiar with the standards regarding Information and Communication Technology they won’t be able to apply digital pedagogy the way they should and would therefore not be able to call themselves digital pedagogues.

It is therefore important for teachers to educate themselves in Information and Communication Technology in order to be efficient digital pedagogues but also to acknowledge that learners have a lot to teach and that including them in the teaching process might be the answer to a lot of our current problems in education.

The future of teaching

Teachers tend to ignore using social media in the classroom due to their misunderstanding of this amazing tool. Davis (2014) mentions the social media myth in her article. Most teachers believe the myth that social media can’t be used in the classroom because they won’t be able to control what the learners do with social media in their classes. I've learned from personal experience that the more you try to take social media and technology out of the classroom, the more children will try to bring it in. Why not stay on top of things and allow social media to be used in a controlled environment.

In his article Provenzano (2015) mentions various ways he is currently using social media in the classroom. From using Remind to communicate deadlines of homework (I have no idea what this is) to using Blogs for learners to interact with a large community about what they are currently doing in school and what their understanding of the work is. It is therefore clear that using social media in the classroom has a lot of benefits and that we can no longer escape this practice.

Being a teacher in geography I would be able to use social media in various ways in and out of the classroom. Geography is the type of subject that has a lot to do with what is going on in the world and it is impossible to try and teach it in a classroom only. Learners will be able to share their experiences of active geography on social media for example, pictures and short clips of natural disasters or the aftermath of a fire on Instagram or Facebook. Social media would thus be a great tool to use in geography to enhance the learning experience of learners. Learners will be able to learn work by sharing it on social media rather than going on long time consuming field trips. 

Social media in the classroom is inevitable and the sooner teachers realize this fact the sooner they can tap into the world of possibilities that is social media. This should however be done by keeping in mind that the use of social media should be controlled in the classroom, not only to protect the learner but also the teacher. 

The Misunderstanding of Digital Pedagogy

After intense debating with myself, I have to agree with the statement that digital pedagogy is misunderstood by many. Thinking back on my own experiences in previous classes made me realize that most educators have wrongfully classified themselves as digital pedagogues.

The fact that you use a computer, PowerPoint slides or the internet in your lessons, does not make you a digital pedagogue because pedagogy does not mean to merely give information. In order for a person to engage in digital pedagogy, he/she needs to use digital tools to enhance the learning experience of students and not just use it because it is available and to make their job easier. Pedagogy is concerned with the vital exchange that takes place in order for learning to occur. This usually takes place between 2 or more people, for example: a teacher and a student or two or more students.

I believe in order for someone to be a digital pedagogue that person should be actively engaging in research about this subject because digital pedagogy is a discipline that is continuously developing and changing. Digital pedagogues need to constantly think of ways to use digital tools to better their education styles. Digital tools should inspire us (digital pedagogues) to use them in ways that no one ever thought of using them, rather than dictating us into ways of using them.

We shouldn’t think of students as merely being receivers of information but we should include them in the process of teaching. That’s why we can’t just feed them with information from Power Points. We need to use the technology available to create a flipped classroom where students are part of their own learning experience. This will help them get the capacity to learn things for themselves. Digital pedagogy should therefore be used to our advantage by including the students in the process and using technology to engage with each other and thus enhance the learning experience.

There is clearly a lot of space for improvement when it comes to digital pedagogy, but with the right mindset and the will to better our skills when it comes to this practice, I am sure that we can be the generation of educators that change the current misunderstanding of digital pedagogy.

Till next week…J