C4T#1

C4T#1

John Spencer is a teacher and writer who loves to help his students find their voices. John's blog is entitled Education Rethink. On September 4th, John made the post You Will Make Enemies. In this post, John shares a life lesson that he wants his boys to learn as they are growing up. John argues that no matter what we do in life, there will always be people who dislike us. Yes, it could be our fault that they don't like us, but sometimes people just don't like you for no reason at all. At the beginning of his teaching career, John thought that if he minded his own business and avoided conflict then he would not make any enemies. He thought he was his own biggest critic, but he found out he couldn't have been
more wrong.

John found that those horrible things we think about ourselves sometimes are on someone's mind more often than they are on our own. Whether it be your personality, your weaknesses, your likes, or you dislikes, someone will always be there to hate you worse than you could ever hate yourself, but being caught off-guard by it is the worst part of it all. In conclusion John poses the questions, "Will you let them define your story? Will it push you to become someone you are not? Will you engage in slander? Will it push you to seek out revenge? Or will you choose to love them even when you don’t feel like it?" When it all comes down to it, what will we choose?


C4T#1, comment 1

I began my comment explaining to John who I am, where I'm from, and why I'm commenting on his blog. I feel that this blog was truly a great piece of advice from an experienced teacher and agree that we truly never know how we are seen in other peoples' eyes. In my personal experience, I have had several teachers act this way towards not only other teachers but also to their students. Just because some people makes one big mistake, they are branded as trouble for the rest of their high school careers. I also told him how intriguing I find his ending questions, especially "Will you let them define your story?". This is a wonderful post to keep in mind as I begin my journey to become a teacher. I also left him a link to my blog and the class's blog.

C4T#1

In John's last blog, The Upside of Wasting Time, he discusses the fact that the world needs more "time wasters." No, the world does not need to waste time, but wasting time means being encouraged to explore and create in areas that you are interesting. John doodled and wrote throughout his childhood, and now that is exactly what he is doing with his life. Many times, our childhood escapes develop practical applications in our lives, so we should not discourage creative children. Yes, sometimes it bothers us when a child is not paying attention because he or she is daydreaming, doodling, or humming, but classroom should not just be about practical, utilitarian learning. Classrooms should also involve fun, creative ways to accomplish the standards and expectations of the school.


C4T#1, comment 2 

John could not be more right on this subject! Individuals need to realize that wasting time definitely has its perks. It is the activities and hobbies that we do and keep that make us who we are. As a child, I always felt so pushed to stick to my schoolwork and and think about the future that I usually felt guilty anytime I started wasting time on something I liked to do; however, as I read his post, I realized it was the things I enjoyed doing as a child that I am pursing now in my life. Kids need to be encouraged to do what they love and to focus on other subjects besides just the subjects that schools tell them they're supposed to learn. Teachers should provide creative outlets for students and encourage them to think for themselves. In essence, school standards sometimes need to be associated more with fun and less with utilitarian purpose.