Inspirational Video

 I am a major fan of this website.  It has been very beneficial to my lower and higher learners.  Sometimes students need a different way if learning or even a different voice.  I also think with how fast technology is advancing, we as teachers, have a lot to compete with.  Students are watching youtube, video games, etc and using this as a supplemental method does help.  I use this during my workshop time.  My students know which days are their days and they use the Khan videos for math practice.  It is great because the videos offer additional practice.  I am still yet to use it for other subjects but as you can see there is a lot on their site to use.

 I enjoyed the presentation of the Changing Education Paradigms video.  It gave a visual of the concepts he was making which helped me understand them better.  In reference to changing paradigms in my classroom, I think I need to change the way I view certain students.  The presenter mentioned some students are alienated from education and I can see that happen in my classroom.  If a students does not put forth his best effort and wants to learn he isn't getting my full support as he should be.  I need to think about his needs and how to engage him more.  I also think ability grouping in the classroom based on learning levels hits some of the points made in the video. 

Does the idea behind this lecture, vulnerability, relate to education?  How so?

Yes this video has everything to do with education.  Each day we are creating situations where our students are feeling vulnerable and it is our job to make them feel safe in this scenario.  I am participating in what is called a cold call only classroom.  My students do not raise their hands as I call on random students constantly.  This causes a situation where they may feel shameful, stupid, etc for not knowing an answer, but to alleviate this issue my kids feel safe based on how I implement it.  If  a student does not know an answer I will either coach them through it until they have it or they can phone a friend at which they choose someone, but after their friend has given the answer the original student called on has to repeat it so they have ownership as well.  We also clap for one another constantly to celebrate when we master topics.
  
 Does this video make you rethink the roles we have as educators - as the 'person in charge'?  Are we asking, or looking, for 'perfection' in our students?  In our selves?  Are we 'letting ourselves be seen'?  Are we 'practicing gratitude and joy'?
This video reaffirms my role as an educator. In order to have a safe classroom my students need to see me make mistakes and learn from them so they know that this process is okay.  We are constantly modeling for them and therefore need to model striving to be the best versions of ourselves so they can do the same.  I also think we need to make ourselves relatable.  This builds those needed relationships with our kids and promotes success because when they know you care and can relate, they want to do well for you and for themselves.

 I personally loved this video.  I thought it was great that businesses are using this with their employees. I think schools should also have creative outlets for their teachers.  This could be a domino effect because then teachers would then use such creativity on their students. I think this holds true for education because differentiated instruction is an important component in teaching and using exploration, creativity, and play allows for that. It helps us teach to every child.  I also believe that future careers will be involving using one's creative mind, taking risks, coming up with creative ideas, and we need to provide simulations of such activities for our students so it is not culture shock once k-12 is over.  I think the question of whether or not students feel secure depends on the grade.  4th graders tend to feel secure in this area, however 6th graders care about friendships and what others think so they may limit themselves more.  Plus they are developing insecurities in themselves since they are more aware of themselves and may not want to take risks.  This video did make me realize that I need to incorporate more hands on activities for my students.  The exploration is an integral part of learning and I want to ensure they receive that.  One way i do use creativity and play in my classroom is during Social Studies; I try to always use simulations.  We did a simulation a few weeks ago where they came up with laws and sent them to the senate and the senate voted and so on.  groups of students were the representatives, the senate, the house and even the president.  It was fun and they learned something so at the end of the day we were both happy.

I agree with his viewpoint that we are teaching students too many calculations and not enough real world concepts with math.  A student can memorize how to solve a math problem but not know when to use such calculations.  I also agree with his point that we are dumbing down math for our students.
His ideas can be expanded to all subjects.  Students should be taught how to use objectives they are being taught to the real world.  Think of teaching students about persuasive writing, but then have them actually apply this by writing a business letter to a political leader or to a company.  students should be taught in a way that they are successful for careers in the real world.
I would love to have students use programming to apply math concepts, but I am nowhere near capable of that at the time.  I can relate math to the real world and have them solve real world problems using math and focus on the application of it verses the calculation.  
I believe that short term outcomes would be that students get a better grasp for how the objective is used.  A long term outcome would be that they are used to applying concepts and therefore are successful in higher level thinking skills when in their careers.