"Mr. Woodcock"

"Oates, I can hear you wheezing from here.  Take a lap.  Lose the asthma."

Mr. Woodcock, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is the classic stereotypical "mean" P.E. teacher.  In his class he plays the role of the dictator, much like a "drill sergeant" in boot camp.  He has absolutely no sympathy for weakness or disability.  He is ruthless, aggressive, impatient, and seems to get satisfaction out of belittling his students.

His students are his "troops."  They have absolutely no say in what goes on in the gymnasium.  They are all obviously terrified of Mr. Woodcock.  They line up like soldiers at the beginning of class and they follow his every command, although when he asks an open-ended question, they are all afraid to answer.  They are so used to being constantly bullied and belittled by him that nobody really reacts when he insults them or hurls basketballs at them.  Mr. Woodcock probably gets away with being so verbally, physically, and emotionally abusive towards his students because they are all too scared to tell anyone about it.

Mr. Woodcock's curriculum is based on the idea of "toughening up" his students.  He really doesn't care whether his students learn anything about basketball or fitness.  His goal is that every student leaves the gym "stronger" than they were before.  The activities and assessments that Mr. Woodcock uses (if any) are probably not very difficult- the challenge for the student is trying to survive the constant abuse.  That's what Mr. Woodcock wants his students to learn about life: that it's full of constant abuse from every angle, and only the strong survive.

ADDIE Design Phase: Squat Lesson

ADDIE Voicethread

I sure do hate the sound of my voice.  If I ever do another one of these I will hire someone who sounds like Morgan Freeman to do the talking for me.

My Educational Philosophy

I remember having to write about my educational philosophy back towards the beginning of my undergrad career.  I was having trouble trying to find it on my home computer until I realized that my educational philosophy has naturally changed since I was an undergrad.  If it hadn’t, then I probably wouldn’t be here today, a grad school student about to start a career in one of the most challenging educational environments in the country.  When I was an undergrad I believed that the purpose of education was to mold students into professionals, ready and willing to compete in a global marketplace.  When I started thinking about the implications of this theory, however, I realized that it reinforces the false parameters of success that have been set in this country.

In my last job I worked as a vocational rehab specialist for a not-for-profit organization, helping youth with disabilities gain competitive employment in their communities.  Professionalism was always part of the discussion when I sat down with my students and performed various job development tasks.  Whether we were filling out applications, getting ready for interviews, or browsing job postings, I was constantly trying to reinforce the idea that a professional is someone who is constantly focused and constantly learning.  And that’s the key: someone who is always learning is always adapting.  Someone who is always learning is always growing.  Someone who is always learning cannot possibly be unsuccessful in life because he/she will always find a way to rise above any obstacle.  This should be the very simple job of educators: to transform our students into lifelong learners.

This takes numerous shapes throughout a student’s development and there are countless ways we can assess it.  One simple way is college.  On the surface, a student who chooses to enroll in college shows a desire to rise to the top of his or her chosen field and make considerably more money than someone who does not go to college.  But beyond that, this student shows a desire to continue learning.  That should be the reason we encourage students to go to college.  We should no longer reinforce the idea that success is defined by things like net worth, employability, and what kind of high school you can afford to send your children to.  Money does not bring happiness and therefore should not factor in to our discussion about what defines success.  Success should be defined by an innate desire to learn, among other things that have nothing to do with finances (Like physical health... which is why we need Phys. Ed.! But that's another topic).

Now, I realize it seems kind of anti-climatic to write this huge blog post about my personal philosophy of education only to come to the conclusion that the purpose of education is to make students want to learn.  That probably seems fairly obvious.  Then again, if everybody in the education field truly believed this philosophy, would we have as many problems with the educational system in a huge city like Chicago, full of countless free resources and opportunities to learn?  I doubt it.  Too many teachers teach without much care as to whether their students are actually learning anything, or whether they even WANT to learn anything.  That’s why I’m sticking with this seemingly very simple philosophy.  I want to keep learning for the rest of my life, and I want to instill that same desire in my students.

My First Post

My name is Tom Filline and I am a grad student at NLU.  This is my first blog post for my TIE 535 class.  My favorite "classroom" technology tools are heart rate monitors, pedometers, and stop watches.  This blog will serve as my portfolio for this class.  ENJOY!!!