This is my response to the UTNE Reader!

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Answers

The article I chose to summarize is titled Learning in the Key of Life by Jon Spayde. This article was very enjoyable and refreshing. It raised the question of what it means to be truly educated. Does it mean that you have highly specialized skill training or does it mean that you have intellectual breadth through the study of humanities. I believe that education is a combination of both. It is important to learn a skill or trade and then strive to improve and expand it. It is also essential to include the study of humanities. Humanities include the subtle subjects which give us great ideas and equip us to think and to argue. It seems to me that both areas are equally important in becoming a well-rounded person. I think that this combination worked successfully for me. I enjoyed learning my trade and mastering the art of teaching ,however, I also enjoyed my liberal arts classes such as Philosophy of Person. My humanities classes gave me a real connection and understanding of other people which I have found to be essential in my teaching career.

The article also brought up another interesting idea. I thought that Goethes idea that people cannot learn what they do not love was very intriguing. It stated that we always seen to find the time for what we truly love. This statement holds true for me as well. I find time to be so precious and valuable. However, I do find time to keep learning the things I love - golf, piano, teaching and parenting techniques and ideas.This leads itself to another point raised in this article: How do we continue to learn when we are so pressed for time? The answer seems to be that we need to believe that the whole world is our classroom. Learning is not just what takes place within the classroom or school. It is the combinations of our experiences-school, classes, lessons, walks, trips, friendships, relationships, etc. that create the best education. I hope to instill this idea in my students as well. I want them to know the importance of school but I also want them to see the value in building friendships, taking piano lessons, acting in the school play, etc.

This article emphasized the idea that there are so many ways to become educated. We are all basically self-educated by our experiences. I do believe that education is the whole person and all their experiences. The people in this world who never stop learning are the ones who continue to experience life and all the world has to offer. This is the kind of lifelong learning that I want for myself and my students! Life and education go hand and hand. You can only take away what you are willing to put in!

Many ideas were generated in discussions regarding this article. I found out that those who love learning and continue to challenge themselves find it exhilarating. We all want the same thing for our students. We want to prepare them for academic challenges as well as life challenges. We know that the most important life lessons are not found in any book . We also know that we need to combine the skill training with the arts to meet the needs of all our students.

The most important things I took away from this article were to stick to my goals, do what I love, challenge myself and never stop living and learning!!

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1998

UTNE READER-ARTICLE #2

The article I chose to read and summarize is titled "The Art of Genius-Eight Ways to Think Like Einstein" by Michael Michalko. This was a very interesting article. It compared how a genius would tackle a problem vs. how an average person would. It stated that geniuses have the ability to think productively. They ask "How many ways can I look at the problem" and "How many solutions are there." The average person tends to think reproductively. This means that we use what we have been taught and what has worked for us in the past. We pick the most promising approach and work with "defined direction toward a solution." Geniuses are willing to explore all alternatives not just what is the most likely solution. This article also reinforced the idea that creativity is not the same as intelligence. Scholars have tried to tie the two together but have been unsucessful. What does make geniuses different is the way they think about a problem. Eight thinking strategies have been identified that set geniuses apart from the average thinker. They look at all angles of the problem, make thoughts visible, produce, make novel combinations, force relationships, think in opposites, think mataphorically and prepare themselves for chance.

This article made me think about ways that I could use these ideas and expand the learning in my classroom. Problem-solving is a lifelong skill. Students need to be taught problem-solving skills and strategies that foster curiosity. We need to expand our activities and challenge students to think beyond one "right answer." We should say things like "Is there another answer? Can you show me one more way to do this? Find another combination. What would happen if." If we demonstrate some of this expanded thinking for our students they will eventually ask themselves these questions when faced with a problem.We want to encourage students to think about different ways to solve problems. We often emphasize the correct answer and show how to find it. Students need time and encouragement to explore all options. The article stated "If you think the way you've always thought, you'll get what you've always gotten." We want students to be able to think for themselves, to explore possibilities and come up with their own answers and interpretations of a given problem. We have these geniuses sitting in our classrooms waiting for the opportunity to explore their curiosity!

-- Anonymous, January 03, 1999

Shelly, As I read through your article, I want to applaude you at having such personal insights on how to use this article in your own classroom. I find this magazine to be very strange, almost as if it was written for a source of controversy, however, I do enjoy the articles. I liked the statement you found in that article that said "if you think like you always have, you will get what you've always got." I am a very analytical person and often try to look at situations/problems from several angles. However, it is easy to fall into a comfortable routine and let decisions be made based on past successes. I don't think this is always wrong, yet with some people, you can look at their lifestyle and the consequences of it and know that they never step back and look at their situation from a different perspective. If we, as teachers, can teach our students to do this from the beginning, it would be a life skill that they could take with them and use throughout their journey through life! :) Cindy

-- Anonymous, January 05, 1999

Shelley I also read this article. I liked your thoughts to encourage problem solving and to look at creatively. I think as educators some time we get locked into time constraints and forget to give our students the time to look for creative solutions. Students sometimes are so concerned about having the "right" answer they don't take the time to be creative. I think the different curriculum materials that our being produced are starting to allow students to look at things from different points of view. That is a change for educators but it encouraging more creativeness in our classrooms.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 1999

Using questions in the classroom as you mentioned, "Is there another answer? What's another way this could be done? etc" free students to explore possibilities and not be so confined to finding that "one correct answer the teacher is looking for". So often the answer keys for the workbooks don't mention other possible answers either. Although I don't think we can make students into geniuses I do think they can be taught to look at things from many different angles and explore a variety of solutions.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 1999

Michelle,

I thought you had wonderful comments regarding how to foster creative thinking in your classroom. I couldn't agree with you more that we have to allow students the time and encouragement they need to be able to problem-solve in the many different ways that are out there. Far too often we as educators expect things to be done a certain way and ask for it a certain way, simply because it's what has been done in the past. We need to allow the students to be individuals when it comes to being creative with their homework, projects, etc. I personally wish I had the ability and/or time to try to be more creative and think more productively. Time always seems to come into play, doesn't it?

-- Anonymous, January 27, 1999

Michelle,

I thought you had wonderful comments regarding how to foster creative thinking in your classroom. I couldn't agree with you more that we have to allow students the time and encouragement they need to be able to problem solve in the many different ways that are out there. Far too often we as educators expect things to be done a certain way and ask for it a certain way, simply because it's what has been done in the past. We need to allow the students to be individuals when it comes to being creative with their homework, projects, etc. I personally wish I had the ability and/or time to try to be more creative and think more productively. Time always seems to come into play, doesn't it?

-- Anonymous, January 27, 1999

Hi Shelly! This is Mary Chairs - the new discussion facilitator.

How refreshing to read and feel your optimism. We can and should encourage students to think "outside the box" and you give realistic ways of doing that. I agree with your cohort friends, good insights and good advice. Keep up the good work!

-- Anonymous, February 09, 1999