Ch. 3 & 16

I found the alternate reality musing mentioned in chapter 3 fascinating. It so clearly identifies the problem with modernizing our teaching techniques and effectively reaching our students. Because the belief that "what was good enough for me is good enough for them" is so ingrained in our minds we are unwilling to accept any alternative to our "tried and true" methods. I have already encountered this dilemma in my own thinking. Because I learned from and succeeded with the old methods of teaching I feel that there is no need for me to alter those methods in any way. But as I read this book and participate in several other classes discussing adolescence I realize the vast number of learning styles and behaviors and the multiple ways in which teachers must adapt their own style to fit the needs of the students. I'm still not advocating that we throw out the old methods altogether; chapter 16 even mentions the dangers of throwing out the textbook as outdated and uninteresting. The challenge will be to find a way to make the textbook interesting and easy to understand. 

One thing I did not agree with in chapter 16 was the use of Thinking Maps. I remember in junior high and even into high school being handed a map similar to those displayed in the book and being asked to write "what I know, what I want to know, what I learned." I found these worksheets to be a waste of my time and found more benefit in actually doing the assignment rather than the pre-assignment. I realize that this is probably just unique to my learning style, but I still hold a prejudice against graphic organizers. While they may be helpful for some students to visually and neatly organize information, I feel that they may inhibit other students and cause the learning to be a cut and paste procedure.