I think you chose a great topic to discuss in your blog. I never really considered self-confidence to be a skill. To me, you either have it or you don't. The video was very interesting and it got me to think about self confidence in a new way. Self confidence is key to having success in the classroom and anywhere else life leads students. I agree with you when you say that we, as teachers, must instill confidence in students and help them believe in themselves.
The content on your post was very thorough and reflective of your beliefs as an educator. The fact that you started with a story about a teacher that affected you in high school really shows your voice and personality. I did not notice any grammatical errors that would affect the readability of your post. The hyperlink you included provided powerful insight on the different styles that students in our classrooms have and that we should be aware of. The video you included was also very relevant to the topic of self confidence.
Overall, I think you did a great job on the blog and that you deserve for credit.
This post reminds me of the movie Whiplash, currently out in movie theaters. The movie's setting is a highly-regarded private music school in New York City. One of the main characters is Terence Fletcher, a renowned music professor who consistently leads his studio band to victory in extremely competitive national competitions. However, he achieves these results using classroom strategies that involve the fear of failure, humiliation, and verbal abuse. He's manipulative and vindictive to the point of being sadistic. He claims all he's trying to do is bring out the best in his students, but any reasonable person can see he goes way too far. In the end, he achieves his goals, but the audience has a difficult time viewing these victories as triumphs.
Another thought that comes to mind is a book I read recently entitled How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. This book discusses the personality characteristics that our students need in order to succeed, and how we, as educators and parents, can nurture those qualities. The book builds on your commentary, Maribel, and the content of your video, very well. I would recommend it to everyone.
A few more thoughts. In reviewing the given rubric for this assignment, I would like to make the following observations. I feel the content of this blog post was insightful and indicative of reflective thought. I particularly appreciated the more personal approach, rather than academic, to this subject. I feel the style of your writing was appropriate for your intended audience, and there were few, if any erros in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I enjoyed the video you incorporated. I felt the speaker was engaging and informative, and fit your topic well. I also liked the link to the article by Gardner. Was there a section for works cited?
Maribel, thank you for sharing such helpful tips. Even though I am not a teacher yet, I will make sure to use those tips once I start teaching ESL. I totally relate to you when you said that what matters is really what do you believe of yourself, and what you can accomplish. That statement is very powerful. You clearly presented the information with great examples. I can see your personal touch when I was reading your blog. The video you shared with us is very interesting. I like how Dr. Ivan Joseph refers to self-confidence as a skill. On another note, I also think that educators should some how try to give more support to adult students (as I mentioned in my blog about ESL adult students). ESL students tend to face financial distress and family responsibilities that most of the time prevent them from concentrating on their studies or finish their educational goals, so adding more distress to their learning is not the answer. Motivation is the key for a successful learning experience. You made good use of hyperlinks, citations and multimedia in your blog. Great job!
Maribel, I really enjoyed your comments about about challenging yourself and your scholastic growth DESPITE your teacher. Your point on how harsh criticism can demotivate students reminds of this Ted-talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/shimon_schocken_the_self_organizing_computer_course/transcript?language=en#t-590445 At 10:01, the speaker talks to this very point in a way that i feel is very complementary to the discussion you've started on motivation. Great topic! -Justin C
Ironically, I must now go against the great points you made and I agree with in order to satisfy the evaluation criteria for this assignment: Content and Creativity 4 Voice 4 Mechanics 3.5 (Some Sentence fragments) Text Layout 4 Hyperlinks 4 Graphics and Multimedia 4 (minimal, but appropriate) Citation 4 (inline linking appropriate)
You received a lot of comments. This means at least you chose an excellent topic. I think you did also a good job in writing the blog and expressing your oinion in this regard. Ali
Posted by Marilin Equihua
ReplyDeleteMaribel,
I think you chose a great topic to discuss in your blog. I never really considered self-confidence to be a skill. To me, you either have it or you don't. The video was very interesting and it got me to think about self confidence in a new way. Self confidence is key to having success in the classroom and anywhere else life leads students. I agree with you when you say that we, as teachers, must instill confidence in students and help them believe in themselves.
The content on your post was very thorough and reflective of your beliefs as an educator. The fact that you started with a story about a teacher that affected you in high school really shows your voice and personality. I did not notice any grammatical errors that would affect the readability of your post. The hyperlink you included provided powerful insight on the different styles that students in our classrooms have and that we should be aware of. The video you included was also very relevant to the topic of self confidence.
Overall, I think you did a great job on the blog and that you deserve for credit.
Posted by Marilin Equihua:
DeleteI meant to say "full credit" instead of "for credit" in that last sentence.
Posted by Marilin Equihua:
DeleteI meant to say "full credit" instead of "for credit" on the last sentence.
This post reminds me of the movie Whiplash, currently out in movie theaters. The movie's setting is a highly-regarded private music school in New York City. One of the main characters is Terence Fletcher, a renowned music professor who consistently leads his studio band to victory in extremely competitive national competitions. However, he achieves these results using classroom strategies that involve the fear of failure, humiliation, and verbal abuse. He's manipulative and vindictive to the point of being sadistic. He claims all he's trying to do is bring out the best in his students, but any reasonable person can see he goes way too far. In the end, he achieves his goals, but the audience has a difficult time viewing these victories as triumphs.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought that comes to mind is a book I read recently entitled How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. This book discusses the personality characteristics that our students need in order to succeed, and how we, as educators and parents, can nurture those qualities. The book builds on your commentary, Maribel, and the content of your video, very well. I would recommend it to everyone.
A few more thoughts. In reviewing the given rubric for this assignment, I would like to make the following observations. I feel the content of this blog post was insightful and indicative of reflective thought. I particularly appreciated the more personal approach, rather than academic, to this subject. I feel the style of your writing was appropriate for your intended audience, and there were few, if any erros in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I enjoyed the video you incorporated. I felt the speaker was engaging and informative, and fit your topic well. I also liked the link to the article by Gardner. Was there a section for works cited?
DeleteMaribel, thank you for sharing such helpful tips. Even though I am not a teacher yet, I will make sure to use those tips once I start teaching ESL. I totally relate to you when you said that what matters is really what do you believe of yourself, and what you can accomplish. That statement is very powerful. You clearly presented the information with great examples. I can see your personal touch when I was reading your blog. The video you shared with us is very interesting. I like how Dr. Ivan Joseph refers to self-confidence as a skill.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I also think that educators should some how try to give more support to adult students (as I mentioned in my blog about ESL adult students). ESL students tend to face financial distress and family responsibilities that most of the time prevent them from concentrating on their studies or finish their educational goals, so adding more distress to their learning is not the answer. Motivation is the key for a successful learning experience.
You made good use of hyperlinks, citations and multimedia in your blog. Great job!
Maribel,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your comments about about challenging yourself and your scholastic growth DESPITE your teacher. Your point on how harsh criticism can demotivate students reminds of this Ted-talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/shimon_schocken_the_self_organizing_computer_course/transcript?language=en#t-590445
At 10:01, the speaker talks to this very point in a way that i feel is very complementary to the discussion you've started on motivation. Great topic!
-Justin C
Ironically, I must now go against the great points you made and I agree with in order to satisfy the evaluation criteria for this assignment:
Content and Creativity 4
Voice 4
Mechanics 3.5 (Some Sentence fragments)
Text Layout 4
Hyperlinks 4
Graphics and Multimedia 4 (minimal, but appropriate)
Citation 4 (inline linking appropriate)
I love this, Maribel! What you have stated is very true. Your school is lucky to have you!
ReplyDeleteContent and Creativity: 4
Voice: 4
Mechanics: 4
Text Layout: 4
Hyperlinks: 4
Graphics and Multimedia: 4
Citation: 4
You received a lot of comments. This means at least you chose an excellent topic. I think you did also a good job in writing the blog and expressing your oinion in this regard.
ReplyDeleteAli