Additional Assignment # 5

This was an enlightening assignment for me. I think John Spencer is great! I love his ideals and his metaphors (pencils) and how he applies it to so many situations in life.

In his post, Just Teach Them To Solve For X, he speaks of metaphors and that "it's human's way of making sense of abstract". Metaphors require us to think. It allows us to express without being direct. We should allow our students to use their brains and participate in the art of learning. We should not always force feed them concrete thoughts.

In another one of John's posts, "Sketchy Portraits: 8th Grade Identity and Pencils", he writes about a conversation between a first grade teacher that pulled him aside. John uses the pencil as a metaphor (an emotional metaphor). The first grade teacher explains that a particular student was being mouthy. John explained to her that it's a typical behavior amongst the age. He explains to the teacher that they are so confused (even to themselves) and are trying to close the gap between childhood and adulthood. He further explains while being structured, you can write in ink, while the student's are sketching in pencil.

In "He Just Likes The Class For The Pencils", John truly touched my heart. He shows compassion for his students (when they need it). He shows how he earns the trust and confidence of his student. The other teacher that called him into the meeting with the student's parent should be ashamed. This teacher was trying to bash John instead of learn of him. The student shows his appreciation to John by explaining or not directly explaining that he likes his class, but not for the pencils. He appreciates John because of the teacher he is not for what he has in or uses in his class (pencils).

The Medium Shapes and Learning is an interesting post. I think he is comparing "old" learning with "new" learning. Learning the "new" things are not bad but we should always use the "old" as a base. We should build off the old and add to it using the "new".  I could be completely missing the point and if I am I would love for someone to let me know. My interpretation may be totally confusing.