Our discussion in class today brought up the interesting point of what we choose to pass down and who chooses to pass down this information. It brought up a question in my mind as to why do we pass down certain things to our children and certain things to our students. Alyse brought up the point that she was taught how to farm because her family knows how to farm and it is important to them. We brought up the idea of curriculum, and the curriculum is important to our school boards and fellow educators. Also it came up in class the idea of tech classes in public schools and the students that fit inside this category. All of this made me think, do we not pass down information and skills because we personally have a passion for them? Alyse's family has a passion and pride for farming and growing their own food. Our school boards have a passion for enriching minds of students. Students who are in tech classes often have a passion for the field that they are pursuing. And we, as future educators, do we not have a passion for a certain subject area or for the well being of children? Especially in the secondary level, where educators choose one specific subject area, we have a passion for that particular subject and want to pass down that passion to our students. So my question is, is it possible in a world that is so driven by economy and money, to be personally driven by our own passions and what we take pride in? Sure, it is impossible to say that EVERYONE is driven by their passions and not by money, but do we not choose to pass down the things that are important to us, not just the things that will benefit our following generation monetarily?

I think we all do pursue and teach what we are passionate about for the most part. Even in cases where people simply get a job for the amount of money they earn, they obviously have a passion and their passion is for money. In this case, a money-driven person will probably pass down their value of money to their children and teach them how to be successful at making it. For those of us who have a passion for a certain subject and for children, we will most likely pursue it an encourage our students to love the same thing we do. I think the main problem in this world today is that many people have a passion for the wrong thing....It seems that the majority of our society has a passion to satisfy themselves and not to help others. For this reason, I think that our society revolves around money and this is why there are still so many poor people in the world and people who need help. If we can help change the mind-set of our future students to be passionate about people and helping them as well as sharing our love for our subject, then our world will be a lot better.

This is an interesting questions Sara brings up. I have thought a lot about this as well. The people I have learned from the most in my life have been the most passionate about their subject area, job, family, or what they are doing in their lives. For example I had a history teacher who came to work every day excited and so egger to teach her class history because she knew just how important it was for them to learn it, and her passion overflowed into the classroom and especially into me, since I am a History for Secondary Education major. I will never forget her passion for teaching, history, and above all her students. I think Sarah is right, we should be passionate about helping others and let our kids see that so hopefully they will be passionate about it as well. We definately can change the world in some way, through our classroom, year after year.

This topic of having a passion for what you do has been brought up in several of my classes this semester. I think teachers are a great example of people driven by their own passions. They are driven by the desire to educate students. This certainly is not the career if your passion is money. I believe one thing we should pass down is knowledge that will help the next generation become productive members of society. For example, in school you do not learn how to balance a checkbook, but this is a practical skill. Of course, we do not always teach practical skills and people are sometimes too focused on things like money or the economy. I do think money and the economy are important to know about but too much emphasis is often placed on them. I am an elementary education major and, although I do not teach one subject, I am passionate about math. Like Brooke, I had many teachers who were passionate about math and I became interested in the subject. I hope to pass to some of my students the same passion for math. Everyone has something unique to share with younger generations, and through education these values that are passed down may help the world become a better place.

I think as teachers, that if we are passionate about something it will come out naturally in our personality. If you are passionate about farming and growing things, in your science class you will have the children learn how to plant something and watch it grow. There are ways to integrate what you are passionate about with the curriculum. As long as you can back up (which may be a ridiculous standard in itself) what you are teaching the children to the curriculum, then you should be fine. Isn't it worth teaching what you love even though you may have to defend it a little? We as teachers just have to get creative and learn how to teach what we feel the students need to know. It all depends on how far you are willing to go in order to teach what you love and think is important.

We are all capable of teaching passion. Modeling passion may perhaps be one of the best ways to engage students in learning. Regardless of the subject content you are passionate about, in any area and at any age showing children how to learn and to be excited about that process seems to be a key element across the board.
I think the frustration that teachers feel and the obstacles they encounter result from the standardized courses of study and fairly rigid curriculum (especially in higher grades). While I do understand the concerns that we want all children to receive an equal education, this predetermined curriculum does have some fundamental issues when it comes to creating or maintaining passion in your own classroom. Learning should be much more diversified, and when we ask children what THEY want to learn, I'm certain as teachers we are equipped with the tools to help them to do so. I think in order to maximize and capitalize on teaching experiences, we cannot rely on others to decide what is important for us! We are wasting such potential in our students by doing so, and stifling the passion in both the students and the teachers.

I get really frustrated sometimes when people complain about the restrictions of standardized tests and curriculum because I feel like we knew all of these existed when we hopped on the teaching boat. YES, some of those standards and limitations seem rediculous... BUT I really wish we would spend our time coming up with ways that we as future teachers can change what we have problems with. I think a major part of that is fully understanding those standards and then manipulating them to fit into our own. I know that we are all going to kick butt at being teachers because we obviously care about it. If you don't then you should probably get out now. For those of us who do, let's care enough to realize that we can work through any set of rules that are set before us. It is all about justification- if you can prove how it is useful it will probably fly. I guess I just get sooo tired of the complaining that comes BEFORE we have even stepped into a classroom. I don't know about you, but before I sign a contract to work anywhere I am gonna make sure that school system and I have the same ideas on methods and goals. If I can't find that anywhere... then I guess I chose the wrong calling and grad school here I come.

BTW... that really wasn't directed at anyone or thing in particular... i just wanted to vent a litttle... Thanks

I would say that a great majority of Americans have a very similar set of morals and values, whether they are religiously proscribed or intrinsically felt.

The passion that drives the American teacher should reflect in some way this universal sense of progress and wonder that has become the embodiment of the American dream. I have to question whether we as a society can cope with a loss of class mobility; can our educational system combat the disadvantages of impoverished students? Can teachers find ample emotional as well as financial rewards in equal opportunity education?

We, as college students studying to be educators are idealists, otherwise we would have found more profitable career paths. The role of passion in education cannot be overstated!

Going back to Erin's post...I completely agree with her and the points that she made. We as future teachers knew that when we decided to become teachers that Standardized Testing was something that we were going to have to deal with. Unless something major happens we are probably going to have to deal with Standardized Testing for the duration of our teacher career. I believe that the best way to deal with it is manipulating the course of studies into your own and making them fun and exciting for your students. Just because you have to teach what the State says you have to doesn't mean that it has to be boring. Also with testing some students are not going to do as well as others and we are held accountable for those things as teachers, but how else are we going to test the knowledge of our students?!