For this first post, I was asked by my
Instructional Technology professor to watch three videos and reflect on them. I
have separate reflections for the first to videos, and the last video. I also
have a final reflection that demonstrates how I connected the different videos,
and what they meant to me.
The first and second videos
were extremely interesting, and I also thought that they were wonderfully
motivational. After watching these videos, I really felt like I could go out
and change the world through kindness, and I want to remind myself to make
everybody around me feel important. The first video talked about how the words,
"You Matter" can change somebody's heart, mind, and life. We as
humans were born to be of significance. We often are not told how appreciated
we are, and since we don't hear how appreciated we are, we often times put
ourselves down, and question our purpose and importance. In addition to not
feeling appreciated, we do not tell others how appreciated they are. After
hearing this, I realized how correct this statement was. I have always enjoyed
being looked at straight in the face and told that I made a difference in
somebody's life. Of course, it's always nice to think that if I hadn't been
around, somebody would miss me, and something great wouldn't have happened
without my contribution. We all like to think that our presence has made a
difference and resulted in something fantastic. This video made me think of my
mom. My mom is probably the most generous person I know. Every time we go to a
nice sit-down restaurant, my mom always calls the manager over to our table and
tells him how wonderful our waiter or waitress was, (unless they were
absolutely horrible, of course). I always felt good after the manager smiled
and the waiter or waitress thanked my mom for saying such nice things, but I
never thought about how wonderful they must have really felt. Additionally,
although my mother makes sure everybody around her feels appreciated, she
herself is seldom praised, which is something that needs to change. Recently, I
went to Walgreens to have some pictures taken for my passport, and the woman
who helped me was quite introverted, but she was extremely helpful. So, I told
her manager how great she had been and how easy she made the whole
picture-taking process. The manager was very pleased, and I know that the woman
was proud of herself when she heard what I had said about her. People that are
in low-skilled jobs often feel like they don't have a purpose. They are usually
just trying to make ends meet and they don't feel like their job is very
important. Being complemented, and knowing that a person would not have had a
good experience doing little things like eating at a restaurant or getting
pictures taken, makes that person feel appreciated, and hopefully gives them
motivation to continue being themselves and truly believe that they are making
a difference in people's lives. By acknowledging others, people will continue
to try and make even more of a difference in the world. Imagine a world where
everybody was kind to one another and appreciative! How spectacular! However,
simply saying that somebody matters isn't enough, a person must truly mean what
they say and express why that person is valuable. If people know that they are
noticed, they are more likely to start believing that they are true geniuses
and that the world needs and appreciates their contributions. We must depend on
others, and that is only possible if we trust that we will be noticed. We are
lucky enough to have the pleasure of being able to make people matter, so why
not do it?
The third video intrigued me
the most out of all the videos because it talked about passion-based learning.
I always said that I am an education major because I have a passion for education.
However, I didn't know what passion really meant. I love everything about
education. I love the learning part of it, I love the friendship part of it,
and I love the fact that students can discover so many different things all in
one day! I've wanted to be a teacher for a long time. I'm willing to work very
hard to become a teacher and nothing will stop me from completing my goals.
Passion is about doing what you must do. It's about caring for something so
much that you have to do it. When you can't rely on anything else, you will
still somehow endure and continue on because you still need to be there for
your students. Passion is beyond personal agendas, it is about teamwork and
collaboration. Passion makes us care. We can't create passion, it is expressed
implicitly, but when we ask the students we teach what matters to them, that is
caring about them and increasing our passion, and that is the essence of
teaching with passion-based learning. As an educator, it is essential that I
provide times for passion to be nurtured and thrive. I need to find out what
matters to my students so I can integrate a passion for learning in them.
Passion is the key that opens the doors liberates genius. I absolutely loved at
the end of the video when one of the speakers stated Mr. Rogers quote,
"Every student deserves to have a teacher filled with passion stand in
front of them and in their presence everyday." This video was riveting. It
made me realize that education is my calling and that I can make a difference.
These videos were outstanding!
After watching them, I can't wait to start my career as an educator and make a
different in children's lives. I always wanted to make a difference. At one
point and time I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to save lives, but I
realize that educators can make just as much of a difference is somebody's
life. I realize that through encouragement and acknowledgement, people's lives
can be changed. I also can't wait to demonstrate my passion in the classroom
and make children passionate about learning and their own interests. I want my
students to be confident, disciplined, dedicated, and willing to work with
others. These videos display two qualities that all teachers should have. I
can't wait to further my knowledge about education and all the things that go
with it so I can be the best educator I can, and make a difference in the lives
of my students.
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