Ch. 5 Rethinking

I thought out of all of our readings so far that this was the most interesting.  I liked how the book gave us an overview of almost every alternative schooling outlet and gave us information that we didn't know (at least that I didn't know).  I was very surprised to hear that homeschooled kids did better on standardized testing even if they had a parent with a low educational background.  The section on workplace learning made sense to me and I agree with it.  I feel like if you need additional learning in your career that it should be provided at your workplace (if they expect it from you, expect it from them).  I liked the idea of distance education especially if its a program that you cannot get at your school.  I find this to be really good because you can share your ideas with people from all over the place and get additional views on the content you are learning.  This is benefitial in many ways other than schooling but I like the idea of being able to learn anything you want from anywhere you want, even if it is from someone all the way across the country.  Adult education sounds interesting for seasoned learners who want to continue their education and gives them an outlet that fits them a little better.  Learning Centers are benefitial but I think they should only be used for additional help or additional learning, not as a primary source.  The technological ways (videos, tv, computer, etc.) also seem like an advantage for additional learning or for people who just can't make it to a classroom.  It seems like something good for distance learning or for summer classes, but I don't think it could work for me as a full time thing.  If that's what works for others, thats fine but I could never use those ideas as my sole source of teaching or learning.  At the end of all of this, I feel that a lot of these ideas are good, for additional learning.  If someone chooses one of these alternative ways, thats great.  To me though, I feel like you need the school community that is real like a building with real classrooms and real people that are face-to-face.  To me, you just get more out of a traditional school especially the social aspect of school.  I still think technology is important in the school environment though.  I think I would like to introduce something with the distance learning into my classroom such as having a pen-pal via the internet or even encourage learning centers for children to go to for extra help if they need it.  Also, I would like learning in the workplace because if I need to learn something new as a teacher, I want it to be done by my school.  One thing that I will do differently with this is encourage something like a distance learning project or incorporate possible summer activities online for future students or past students to stay on top of schooling.