Skills on Skills

There are so many "skills" that an average person should be able to task before they are "grown up". As a future educator I believe that is is our duty to help our students learn as many of the 21st skills as possible. In the younger grades we are supposed to encourage the students to have and display their own creativity. We also are supposed to let them have a sense of imagination. Currently in the public schools, I don't see a lot of that going on. There are too many teachers worried about their students tests scores and what the whole class percentage is going to be. I think there should be more of an opportunity to let our students be MORE creative and have more problem solving situations. Those types of skills is what they are going to use for the rest of their life. In some students home situations there is not an opportunity for having an imagination or having fun. In the classroom there should be time in our daily schedule for the students to be able to have fun and let their imagination out. Every student is going to be different in the way they learn or let that out, but it's so hard to incorporate that when the teachers are just worries about scores. For me it is all about the children and passing on the knowledge that I am teaching them. I will try my best to incorporate as many "live related" skills through my teachings and lessons.

I think every student should have the opportunity to learn about other cultures and places other than their own. Now a days I think it is more of a norm than not to have teachers be more "culturally aware." I know that I plan to be open and interested about different cultures of students and incorporating that into my classroom. It is also important to be culturally aware when you are dealing with parents and with co-workers. 

Cultural Lens

The "typical" Arkansan vacation seems to be taking a trip to the beach or going skiing. I know many people that when ever they get a vacation that is all they ever do... go to the beach or go skiing. Growing up my parents loved to travel around the United States. I was fortunate to get to travel to different areas of the country and learn about our history and view different landmarks. It is sad to think that people wouldn't want to travel around the country let alone the world if they are given the opportunity. If I had the opportunity I would have traveled all over the world by now. Unfortunately, traveling around the world uses up a lot of time and requires a lot of money. I have been out of the country once before, but I am so excited to get the experience to travel more. If I had the choice I would love to be traveling to different counties and doing mission work with children. It's hard for me to picture people not wanting to expand their cultural knowledge to travel and learn about different places. I wish everyone had the money and opportunity to at least travel somewhere different just to see what it is like. I feel like I am going to be addicted to traveling and learning about new cultures and environments. The articles we had to read were very interesting! I think that too many Americans don't travel around because we do have a lot to offer here, but I also think that there is a lot to offer in other countries that we do not have. Yes, there are defiantly some places in the world that are not safe to travel to, but there are LOTS of places that are very safe! There are places in the US that aren't very safe that I would't want to visit. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and respect the culture why you are visiting. I have said this in another post, but I noticed that the first article mentioned it: "Treat others how you would want to be treated." I try and think about this statement for every situation I am in. Whether I am in a different country or I am in a different city, it does not matter. You should always treat other people and places how you want to be treated.

The closer and closer it gets to summer, the more excited I get about this trip!