Leona Holt & Adam Riley- Guest Speakers 10-13-08

   I enjoyed that comments and responses by the two administrators that were guest speakers for this evenings Ed. Psych. class.  The highlights for me were the points made about what good teaching is.  (The teacher has to connect with the kids, motivate students, be a facilitator, know intent and outcomes, feel rewarded, but most of all have a passion for working with kids.)

   The discussion about the international competition with the U.S. was interesting.   Many reports show that the educational system in the U.S. is behind Japan and European countries.  Ms. Holt stated that education is not a priority in our culture anymore, school comes second to most other activities.  I do agree with this statement.  We hosted an exchange student from Germany several years ago.  She told us that school was just for education.  Involvement in sports was separate from school.   You had to join a club and pay for it to be in a sport.  The same was true for music.  The issue of year around school was also an interesting topic.  Tradition and finances may make it difficult to establish year round education in many places.

We have many challenges ahead of us as teachers and administrators.  The best way to deal with these issues is to be open minded and remember to put the kids best interests first.