Response to TED Talk video

I just watched a video with a man named Sir Ken Robinson.  He mainly talks about how the education system is flawed.  What really caught my attention in the video is when he started talking about how some people don't need college at all, how it is a waste of time for some and good for others.  He talked about how he had met a fireman and the fireman going through school as a young boy.  I related greatly to this.  I never really felt the need for college, I thought that it was mainly just an excuse for kids getting out of high school to have.  By excuse I mean just another "bubble" for them to put themselves into for the next 4 years until they have to face the real world.  See, I never went to college until now. I joined the military straight out of high school with a very clear picture in my head about what I wanted to do, I wanted to serve and fight for my country.  And it may seem ironic that now I am in college, but don't let this fool you, I am in college to learn a certain skill.  I believe that much of college is what the fireman said as a young boy, just a waste.  Now I'm trying to become a welder, eventually an aircraft welder or even underwater welder, so what do I need to take english and psychology classes for?  Now I'm not saying that the reason I find these classes somewhat useless to me is due to the teachers or the class themselves, but if I have a specific skill I want to learn, why do I need to "waste my time" taking these classes versus taking more welding classes?  I don't know the answer to that question.  

Summary of the article I found on the web

I read an article found on Intime.com regarding teacher’s in depth content knowledge.  The article went on about the way teachers teach their students and the importance of the style of teaching.  Thinking along with the Passion Project, this article much relates to what the main topic of my essay is going to be, how teachers need to adapt their teaching style according to the students in the class.  Much of what will be writing about is going to be focused on how the students should set the tone for how the teacher gives out the material to be learned.  In the article, Allan A. Glatthorn “Described this as the process of fitting the represented material to the characteristics of the students.  The teacher must consider the relevant aspects of the students’ ability, gender, language, cutler, motivations, or prior knowledge and skills that will affect their responses to different forms of presentations and representations.” (Glatthorn, A. A. 1990 Supervisory leadership).  Glatthorn was a distinguished Research Professor of Education and I could not agree with his statement more.  He is saying that teachers should map their classrooms to the specific knowledge of their students and consider their background to determine the best way for them to learn.  A lot of what was said in the Passion Project had this same idea as well.  Students felt that this was true, that teacher should get to know the students in their class, and through this they can achieve the best way to teach them.  This backs up one of my arguments that the most popular ways of teaching are not always the best and that different students learn on different levels, so why not customize the teaching material specifically to the students.  “Through reflection, teachers focus on their concerns, come to better understand their own teaching behavior, and help themselves or colleagues improve as teachers”.  This is one quote from the article that struck me as one of the best.  Teachers must have some sort of feedback as to what they are doing correct and what they still have to improve on.  The only way to learn if their class is productive is to hear what the students and other teachers alike have to say.  The best way to learn that is through constructive criticism and this will only help further how the education system can improve.  Who better than the people in the class, who sit there and listen to every single word said, to reflect and review how the class is being taught and where there is room for improvement.

http://www.intime.uni.edu/model/teacher/teac2summary.html