The Importance of Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson

"If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original."

---Sir Ken Robinson

I really enjoyed Sir Robinson's presentation. I thought he made a good point about how all people are different and that our education system doesn't properly address that. Public schools focus so much on academics and standardized testing than students’ logistics by participating in music, dance, art and etc.  I agree with Sir Ken about humanities and arts are just as important as math and science. Eventually, educators will realize that forcing children into fields where they don't excel is also cruel.  Children should be able to express their thoughts and talents as well as the teachers express theirs.  Please stop taking creativity from our children.  As Sir Ken said, "It is our job to help students make something of the future.

In the video, Sir Robinson explains the importance of creativity.  Robinson says that creativity is as important as literacy and that we need to rethink the way we look at intelligence.  He says that we all have talents and that we can all be exceptional, but argues that too often those talents are squandered away because our talent may be in something that school system doesn't deem valuable.  Today's society does not focus enough on the creative aspect of the human mind. Kids left and right are taking medications for so called chemical imbalances in the brain.  I feel like in some situations medication is needed to help calm children down a little, but don't give a kid medication just because he/she is a handful. Children are supposed to be a handful. Don't hinder the young minds of children, embrace the arts in school and show more interest in the energy of your child.  I think that parents should take the time to identify and support their child's talents. I think that it’s just as important for educators to do the same with their students. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and I agree with Ken when he says that its time that we rethink the principals on which we educate our children.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman was an interesting concept. Technology has changed the way we live our ordinary lives.  Mr. Winkle wakes up and goes out and explores his surroundings.  He is a little overwhelmed by the changes he sees. Certainly a man from a hundred years ago would barely recognize a hospital or the places we have to work now. The computers, phones, and other electronic devices seem to scare him, so he goes to the school and is content because it seems to be the same as it did hundred years ago.                              
Needleman claims that school hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.  I don't agree that schools haven't advanced in 100 years. We've done away with chalk and slates.  Overhead projectors, power point presentations, and science labs all show that there has been some change.  Students are able to learn foreign languages more easily with Cd's and other forms of audio assistance.  However, I do believe that school haven’t changed that much simply because the system works.  Yes, technology is becoming more advanced but technology is not always needed to learn new things. Why fix something if it isn't broken? 
In my opinion, I believe that Mr. Winkle definitely got his point across. There was so much new technology when he woke up that he probably did not think it was possible in his days. In the next one hundred years, or maybe even fifty, there will be much more technology than we would have ever thought about. This just makes me wonder and anticipate on how the future will impact our lives for better or for worse.

My PortaPortal

PortaPortal is a great and easy way to integrate technology into a classroom and to share links with others.  It is a convenient place to keep and bookmark your online links that students, parents, and other teachers can access.  Best of all, it is FREE!!

I think this is a great tool for teachers to use to save any instructional websites and be able to access them from their home computer, school computer, or any computer.  I usually find myself "favoriting" all the websites I can use for lesson plans, etc. and with the convenience of PortaPortal, I can log in and access anything I have linked on the site from anywhere, even my cell phone.  The convenience and accessibility of this tool is a great quality of something you might use in the classroom.            

By using a PortaPortal in my classroom, I will be able to collaborate and share resources with my fellow teachers and also allow the parents of my students to access the site for additional resources to aid in helping students on homework and activities.

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