C4T #4

"The Real World"
Authored By: Josh Stumpenhorst

For our last C4T I was assigned Josh Stumpenhorst's blog, Stump The Teacher. The first blog post I read on Stump The Teacher addressed "The Real World" that is always being referred to in school. Josh Stumpenhorst states that if you ask educators at any level they would all say that they are preparing students for this "real world" and he admits he himself is guilty of this. He goes on to talk about how this term is irrelevant for "the real world" is much much different for everyone. For instance he speaks on how his students have shared stories of heartbreak with him that have exceeded anything he has dealt with himself. As I was reading Stumpenhorst's post I was so glad that someone was addressing this problem. So much of school is focused solely on the endgame whatever that may be. This mentality wastes the experience of education. We certainly need more educators like Josh Stumpenhorst that understand school is not about the endgame, the "real world", but is an active process that would benefit greatly by having the aid of thoughtful educators.


I Used to Think...
Authored By: Josh Stumpenhorst

The second post I read on Stump The Teacher was titled "I Used to Think..." and that's exactly what it was.
In this post Stumpenhorst presents a list of things all beginning with "I used to think..." that all showed various ideas he used to believe in and how they have changed. This is a very interesting post that provokes major thought and also really shows the importance of self reflection. Here are a few examples of his statements:

-I used to think bad teachers needed to be fired. Now I realize bad teaching largely exists because of a lack of exposure to good teaching.
-I used to think the more work I piled on a kid the more they would learn. Now I realize the more valuable the work I ask kids to do the more they will learn.
-I used to think kids were motivated by grades and that could increase engagement. Now I realize grades are often less a reflection of academic abilities but rather an indication of prowess at playing the game of school.
-I used to think I was a good teacher. Now I realize that good is not good enough and I must to keep working to be better. 

I think all of these reflections are great and so much can be learned from them. This post is a great idea and I think it could serve as a helpful self reflection practice that we could all benefit from.