Week 1 reply to Todd Saperstein

Week 1: DIY and EDUPUNK
By tsaperstein

This is my first real post as far as this course is concerned. The first post of mine was from my NING site entitled “Getting to Know Todd Saperstein.” I used it as a place holder in order to complete my blog site and mail the link.

Under the “Expectations” section of our (4) Blog Entries plus Comments rubric, it states the blog entries can be open ended. Thank G_D for that, because my brain is a vast, open ended, thought safari. If you though Jurassic Park was scary, YOU AINT SEEN NOTHIN YET, so buckle up, please your head and hands inside the vehicle at all times, you are about to enter Todd’s brain. Oh, and watch out for the occasional pockets of hot air. It’s kind of like landing a airplane in Las Vegas, the upstream of hot air makes it quite bumpy.

So, DIY and EDUPUNK, LLLLOOOOVVVVEEE IT! Love it, love it , love it! I always tell my students “your passion will find you.” After reading the article about Jim Groom and EDUPUNK, I felt as if once again my passion had found me. Rebelling against the education system that is destroying our children’s potential is right up my alley. It’s funny how people look at rebellion as such a negative thing. There is good and bad to everything in life, good people and bad people, good cops and bad cops, good teachers and bad teachers, etc. last but not least, there are good rebellions and bad rebellions. If the cause is just then the rebellion is not only good, but necessary. Let’s not forget people, the United States of America was founded by a rebellion! Remember the whole Boston Tea Party thing and that Revolution. Did everyone watch fireworks on the Fourth of July…PRETTY COLORS! If you didn’t learn it in History class, you must have seen it on School House Rock. You know, SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD. Anyway, I think we need to make things right again.

What are we afraid of anyway, if we allow these kids to actually reach their potential they might be smarter then us? I certainly hope, because we haven’t done that great a job in the last hundred years or so.

I think that a great teacher should be a combination of OB1 from Start Wars, Robin Williams character in Good Will Hunting, Jack Black in School of Rock, and Wilson the volleyball from Castaway. I will let all of you absorb that for a while. I would love to hear what you think I mean by that last sentence. Then, will come back on Sunday and share my inspiration and meaning,

1. Deb Quinn Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
July 13, 2009 at 1:21 am | Reply

Hey Todd,
I totally get it! Rebel we must! I feel that now we have the tools and the research to support our “rebellion”. We as teachers need to continually reflect and fine tune our teaching to best meet our student’s needs and to stay on top of the latest technologies. As far as students knowing more than us, well you bet they do in many areas. Some of the best experiences that I have had over the past 9 months are the times that I have collaborated with my students and let them teach me something!
I can’t wait to read you explanation of Wilson. When I watched it, and thought about your post it made me think of my inner voice. Do you think that we listen to it enough? I really enjoyed your post, it made me stop and think :-)