C4T #2

For my C4T #2 I was assigned to browse William Chamberlain's blog At The Teacher's Desk. I found William's blog very interesting in many ways. He seems to be a very well rounded, good hearted teacher that strives to be the best leader and mentor he can possibly be to his students.

The first blog post I chose to read was titled So Why Do I Feel Guilty? I thought this particular blog post showed what a caring teacher William truly is just by him feeling guilty for doing his job! The post explained that we as teachers have to know when and when not to give students choices in the classroom. William told of the importance of allowing your students to have choice when it came to some topics because we all know we as people seem to succeed more so at things we want to do rather than things we are made to do. Although it would be great to always allow students to only do what they want to do, teachers must require students to fulfill so many activities and projects that they may or may not be as interested in. The truth is in life we always are met with situations we may not particularly want to overcome but in the end have to for the best. With that said a teacher should never feel guilty for making their students learn things they may not specifically want to learn. As William stated, "...do not refer to ridiculously complex geometric proofs that are completely useless to 99+% of the population..." Always refer to the skills and content that will help make your students a more efficient learner.

The second post on Williams blog I chose to read was titled They Don't Love Your Subject (and That is Okay!) This second post really struck home for me as I could find myself relating to what William had to say. In his post he explained how so many teachers try and force a particular subject upon a student. Instead of just teaching the subject to the class in a way they can understand it, teachers feel that the students should love the subject as they do. By teachers forcing students to love a subject, they are in turn only pushing them further and further away from wanting to learn. William relays the message that students are not going to love your subject and that is perfectly okay. I can remember several teachers throughout my grade school years that tried with all their might to make every student fall in love with a subject just because they thought it was the best subject matter that ever lived. I also can remember those particular classes being my least favorite! Like William stated, "We need to allow our students the freedom to follow what they are passionate about." I feel that if teachers would follow through with what William is conveying then they will see more and more students falling in love with their favorite subject!