How to Teach Patriotism and Respect by Ben Johnson and posted on the Edutopia webpage.
I found this post to be rather dull, but that it did go into a very important issue that many Americans believe is occurring today, a loss of patriotism.
The author of the post describes how younger and older students act during the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance while at school. Younger students tend to recite the Pledge well, even if they are just emulating their teacher, while older students tend to not recite the Pledge when given the opportunity, or show a lack of respect while doing so (not standing up straight, not placing their hand over their heart, etc). The author then goes into how it is the teacher's role to teach patriotism to their students and that saying the Pledge of Allegiance is a way to showcase our patriotism.
I do remember attending elementary school and having to recite the Pledge. I am unaware if elementary schools in Michigan are still doing this (I teach secondary education) but I hope they still do. I agree with the author that the Pledge is a great was to show our patriotism. If anything else, saying the Pledge can lead to students thinking for themselves on what the Pledge is about and what it means to them.
However, I do believe that there is more to being patriotic than simply reciting essentially what are just words. I have seen many people waiving American flags, yet still do not believe in freedom (or individual rights) for all. I feel that a teacher needs to have students learn about our great country and what it means to be American, not just by learning a few words and reciting them daily. I would take a student knowing about the history of our country, and the various freedoms we do have, over them simply learning the Pledge verbatim without any meaning behind it.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Chapter 1
I found chapter one of Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms to be of high quality. The chapter does a great job of providing an overview of how the internet has changed from a simple information-sharing of the few to a mass exchange of all types of information for the masses the internet is today.
The chapter also acknowledges that younger generations are using the internet far more than older generations. With younger generations using and having more experience utilizing the vast resources the internet has to offer, it is a 'no-brainer' that educators need to tap into this resource. Educators can now have students working on classroom assignments outside of the classroom. Educators can also monitor and provide feedback on these assignments in real-time.
I found a quote by Douglas Rushkoff to be of the utmost importance to how the internet has changed our culture. Rushkoff refers to this new age we live in as a "society of authorship" (Richardson p.5). In saying this, Rushkoff believes that today people are able to create their own everything. They can write their own blogs on whatever they deem to be important to them, they can comment on any other blog or article they seem fit, and can update their social status for the world to see.
I look forward to reading and learning more through Richardson's book!
- Richardson, W. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 2010.
The chapter also acknowledges that younger generations are using the internet far more than older generations. With younger generations using and having more experience utilizing the vast resources the internet has to offer, it is a 'no-brainer' that educators need to tap into this resource. Educators can now have students working on classroom assignments outside of the classroom. Educators can also monitor and provide feedback on these assignments in real-time.
I found a quote by Douglas Rushkoff to be of the utmost importance to how the internet has changed our culture. Rushkoff refers to this new age we live in as a "society of authorship" (Richardson p.5). In saying this, Rushkoff believes that today people are able to create their own everything. They can write their own blogs on whatever they deem to be important to them, they can comment on any other blog or article they seem fit, and can update their social status for the world to see.
I look forward to reading and learning more through Richardson's book!
- Richardson, W. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 2010.
Feedly Page With Class Blogs
Here is a snapshot of my Feedly account. So far I have created three groups to better organize my feeds. They are: EDU 653 Blogs, Education, and News. These groups are located on the left-hand side of the page.
As of this posting on 6/25/2014, I have subscribed to all 11 classmate's blogs (one of them being my own) that have had their links posted to Blackboard.
As of this posting on 6/25/2014, I have subscribed to all 11 classmate's blogs (one of them being my own) that have had their links posted to Blackboard.
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