Purpose of Education

The purpose of education is as James Baldwin puts it in his article, A Talk With Teachers, "Is to create in a person to l00k at the world for themselves". This is the very idea of what teachers are to do, educate the children and not just school them. It is not for teachers to decide who to educate and who not to educate. We are to educate those who are sent to us. Professional conduct is paramount to being a successful teacher. Once one strive to achieve this standard then all aother standards of the Code of Ethics will fall into place. Just as well as the primary duty of a teacher, educating the next generation of citizens.

Educational Experience in the Military

For those who can't afford college of do not feel they are ready for college after high school yet want to continue in some sort of continuing education then serving in our armed forces might be what they are looking for. I spent nine year active duty in the Navy and received what would be an equivalent of an associates degree in my basic school for my job, or rating as it is known in the Navy. After basic training I spent 15 weeks in Ingleside, TX, just across the bay from Corpus Christi, learning all about the history, current uses, deployment, and testing procedures of under water mines as well as the shipboard aspect of the job. It was 15 weeks of eight hours a day in the class room and labs. I also at other periods in my career had advanced classes in certain under water mine systems, firefighting training, Hazardous Materials handler and coordinator training, and I was instructed in the basic maintenance and operation of the Precise Integrated Navigational System that was used on the Mine Sweepers. For real world experience and training this was a great opportunity, but unfortunately for my case not much of this counted for college credits because of the nature of the information I learned was classified secret. For other ratings in the Navy this is not so much of a problem. A lot of people come out of the military with several college credits hours from their military education. I had all this opportunity for education in the military and I did even get into what the military will help you out on when it come to going to college. I'll save that for my next post.

Technology in Education

Technology in Education, like it or not it is here. Technology is going to allow many new ways of education to take place within schools. Our Children will be opened to new educational experience that just were not possible just a few years ago. Technology is going to be a great tool in education, with emphasis on tool. While I believe that technology is going to be good, it is like anything it must be used in conjunction with other ways of education, not as the only way of education. There is something to said for the education that our grandparents and parents got without all the gadgets we have today. For Example my grandfather was an engineer and he was able to do all the math he needed with a pen and paper because of the education he got and that was the extent of the technology of his day. This not to say that my grandfather would not have appreciated a computer to aid him in the calculations, but he would not have been out in the cold if the computer crashed. So while I think it will be a good experience for our kids to have technology in the classroom it is just important to tech them not to be solely dependent on it. Technology is meant to enhance education.

My History

What do I bring to the table as a Teacher? Well starting after High School my education in the University of Life began at the School of Hard Knocks. Not that my high school education did not give me a foundation that my later education was built on, but my high school experience was nothing special. It was my life after high school that shaped me into the man I am today. My first life experience came from the job I had working alongside and under the guide of my Father working on overhead cranes. This was a promising career for me, after all it was the career my Father had raised his family on, I could have rode my dad's coat tails into the business and built my career on my name. This was not the career that I wanted and so this was my first lesson in life: don't settle for a job you won't be happy at. I then went to work for the Correction Department in Texas, A steppingstone job for what I thought I wanted to do, Law Enforcement. This lasted only nine months before I decided to tackle my goal via another route, I joined the Navy. I stilled planned to make law enforcement a career and felt the military was a better road to take. Alas my next life lesson is learned, always make a plan but don't be disappointed if it does not work out, remain flexible. While serving in the Navy my plans for law enforcement were abandoned and it seemed as though I was going to be career military. This course was to changed but not by my doing, I was injured and no longer fit for military service. Again that lesson of flexibility came into play. My next move was unclear, I no longer was qualified for military service and thus no longer qualified for law enforcement and left with out much else. Then while qualifying for my veterans benefits my calling of being a teacher was layed before me. I will teach for a living, pass along knowledge to our youth.