Saturday, September 24, 2011

You Can Make A Difference Too

Like a lot of people, I love watching TED talks.  Listening to these talks inspires me. One of my favorite TED talks is by Ken Robinson. In the video, Ken Robinson says Schools Kill Creativity, he makes a very daring statement. He says that schools are holding children back from their own creativity.  That doesn't seem right does it? It doesn't seem like a school could do such a thing, but in a way he is right. Children love to explore, create, and share their own ideas. Humans are creative by nature. Unfortunately, by the time children reach high school they are so afraid to be wrong because in today's school system "mistakes are the worst thing you can make." On the contrary, we know that mistakes are somewhat of a good thing. The human brain functions in a way that making mistakes is sometimes the best way to learn. Robinson goes on to say that the result of stigmatizing mistakes we are "educating people out of their creativity." As a future educator, I feel like it's my duty to see each child's creative capacity for all its worth and help them hold on to that to make sure their future is bright. After all, shouldn't teachers want what's best for their students?


Another very inspirational post that I came across last week was from Angela Maiers' Blog. A lot of you may have already seen this post, but it's called You Matter. Two very simple words that hold a very powerful meaning. If you haven't seen the video, you really should. It's about this idea that everyone has the desire to feel like they matter, and the truth is every single person on this Earth does matter. My favorite part in her video was the talk about her notebook. She carries around a notebook writing down anything good that she sees, which she sometimes shares later.  Soon, the students adopted that very same hobby. It's amazing to see and hear how powerful it can be just by telling someone that they matter. A kind act like that is contagious. She's got a great idea going and it's definitely something I will take with me into my personal and professional life.



I also came across a site called Thanks For Teaching Us on a blog that I was reading last week. Sadly, I can't remember who's blog it was and I couldn't find it today. However, this is such a great site and I encourage all of you to post something to this site if you've ever had a favorite teacher and you want to thank them! I was encouraged to post on it once I read Angela Maiers' You Matter post because I have had a couple of teachers who made me feel like I mattered. It made a huge difference in my life.

1 comment:

  1. I like the video "you matter", as you said, it is really inspirational. One can be greatly motivated by others’ respect. The two simple words not only can build people's self-recognition but also encourage emotional interaction between people. Everyone needs the feeling that he or she is needed. Unfortunately, we always ignore our naturally emotional needs for various reasons.
    The fourth stage of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the needs of esteem, which include self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others. “you matter” is a good interpretation of the fourth stage of growth in humans. Only when these needs are satisfied, can human beings achieve self-actualization.
    Working as an educator, it is important that we must let students know they are noticed particularly. I think we all have the experience that when we were kids, how we struggle and strive to be noticed, by our parents, our teachers and even strangers. And noticing made great impact on how we recognize the world and ourselves later on. Children desire more personal attention from teachers. As soon as they feel like they matter, a positive change would be made. As Maiers said in the video, every single one of us must take and have the opportunity and obligation to take into our classroom, our boardroom, our community, our neighborhood. To be honest, I am a bit astonished by the magic of the simple two words.
    And, thank you Chase, for conveying so excellent video to us.

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