If I were to leave a comment...
I am extremely impressed with the speech I just heard from President Obama regarding educational reform. He hit the nail on the head- reform is not something a school can do on its own, it is something that is everyone's responsibility. Obama stated that more and more jobs require more than a high school degree, so in order to truly create jobs we need to change the educational statistics. In order to do that schools need reform and more money. The things that he was suggesting that would aid in this reform were beyond truthful. He understands that we are living in an age where technology is key in just about every aspect of life, so it is vital that we meet these children on their stomping ground. We have to teach them through their interests and at this moment in time their interest is embedded in technology. So for Obama to say that he is going to give schools more flexibility to accommodate students through digital tutors and educational software definitely takes steps in a direction we need to go. I know from experience that my students love playing competitive computers games, so when I introduced a review software called Study Island my students were playing it constantly. They were asking to play it in their free time, and at home. Education always seems to be on the back burner and receives monetary cuts constantly, so knowing that he is willing to make cuts in other areas to get education more money is going to make huge changes in the way we are able to teach our children. I loved his comparison of national budget cuts to budget cuts within a family. When a family is struggling with money, do the parents ever take educational items/opportunities away from their children? No. That is the last thing they would ever think to touch, so why would we be cutting funding to schools and education on a national level?
Krista,
ReplyDeleteI love your comments! By using student interest, learning can be more engaging and rewarding. We use Study Island at our school too. It's a great way to keep track of their progress in all skills. I like how you mentioned that education funds are always the first ones cut. Great example of how parents don't make educational cuts.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteYou had some great points! Education is always the last thing on politician's minds and is the first thing to get cut, but it needs to be the the last thing to get cut. One of my favorite points from the video was when Obama said that more jobs will require more education in the future. I think it's a great motivator for students. I also really think the idea of digital tutors and educational software is a great one since a large majority of students respond so well to the use of technology.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you when you say this video is inspiring for teachers and students. I think the President makes great points about using technology and where our nation is moving towards jobs and education. I was wondering what you thought of the changes since this video was posted in March of 2011. Personally, I think that very little, if any, more spending has been made towards school's technology and/or rewarding teachers as he mentions.