Sunday, August 24, 2008

Google Teacher Academy Application

Well, I've submitted my entry to the Google Teacher Academy:



As I was preparing my required 1-minute video (the topics were to be on either Motivation and Learning, or Classroom Innovation), I came across a sound-byte from the Library of Congress American Memory Project. It was a recording of a quilter, named Lura Stanley, who spoke about her desire to become a teacher. (http://memory.loc.gov/afc/afcqltbr/audio/a013/a0135.mp3). What impressed me the most about Lura's story was the fact that teachers did not need degrees to teach when she first started at the age of 18. She did, however, obtain a degree later in life at the age of 51 (this was in 1957). I wonder whether teacher preparation of "yesterday" has some bearing on the old saying, "Those who can do. Those who can't, teach."

Teaching is certainly not the same profession it was, even 10 years ago. New mandates around NCLB, the advent of new technologies and Internet safety concerns, research on learning and the brain, and the ability to diagnose and document learning disabilities has contributed to the many facets of being an educator. Desire is no longer enough. And, in the end, all the time and resources dedicated to educating our youth must yield a future for them that will provide a decent standard of living, along with the ability to live and work in a now truly global society. Our future also relies on what we sow as educators.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, I am jealous if you get into the Google Academy! Good luck to you. Let us know how it is! Your video is good. I like how it all ties together.

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  2. Good luck. You will love attending. I know I did.

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  3. Thanks for your votes of confidence Joel and Christine. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I've seen so many really good entries on YouTube and Google Video!!

    Good luck with your blogging Joel. There is a sound in the forest when the trees fall!!

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