Baseline: My Philosophy of Education

My Baseline: First post
 
   1. It is a personal belief and value of mine that every human on this earth has a desire to learn. Whether they wish to learn the content of textbooks or the ways of the world is not important to me. However, what is important is that students are constantly encouraged to find their own sense of discovery. This is important so that school doesn’t feel like rote memorization, an exercise in accepting boredom, or purposeless. It is my deeply held conviction that we are all capable of finding joy in learning when learning feels intrinsic. I believe that if I am able to exercise this belief and cultivate a love of learning in the lives of my students then, and only then, can I inspire them to become lifelong learners.

2. My elementary school experiences using technology were fairly limited. My elementary teachers were ecstatic merely to move from a chalkboard to a whiteboard at the time I was in elementary school Smartboards were out of the question. In middle school I gained more exposure to computers and begin to feel comfortable with the bare minimum technology I needed to get through school. I carried a similar sentiment into high school. 

3. To me technology integration does not mean turning students over to technology and relying on the technology to provide the teaching. However, it could mean valuably incorporating a technological component into an already stellar lesson in order to enhance it. 

4. I would like to use technology in my future classroom in a way that feels relevant and meaningful to my students without being a distraction. I think technology can help, but it can also hurt if not managed properly.