C4T #4 Summary

For this month's C4T, I was assigned the blog of Bill Genereux. I really like this blog and am grateful for the opportunity to read through some of the posts. The first post I commented on was titled Taking Risks While Teaching which was a really awesome post. Mr. Genereux was talking about how some of the oldest teachers will tell you things like, not to let the students see you smile before Christmas and don't ask a question you don't know the answer to. He quickly began to argue against the latter, saying that just because we don't know the answer to things, doesn't mean we shouldn't go outside of our comfort zone. Why can't you discover the answer as student and teacher? I instantly thought of the class motto for EDM 310, because that is what it reminded me. What do we do if we don't know the answer? We go and find out. I especially like Mr. Genereux has no fear when it comes to teaching. He is teaching a programming course with nothing but an interest in games and a rudimentary understanding of programming. I like that about him, because he is not afraid of the fact that he may not have all of the answers. Instead he said that there is the book and then an endless stream of sources online.

For my second C4T, I commented on the post titled Unemployable Generation. This post actually fascinated me, because it is being noted that people who have gone longer without being employed have a higher chance of not finding a job, than those who are moving from one job to another. Then Mr. Genereux talked about how some of the 20 year-old students he advises tell him that they have never held a job, full-time or part-time. I found this shocking, as did Mr. Genereux. Then I politely replied that I was in both categories. I had my first job at the age of eighteen, but I have also held this job all throughout college while having a full course load. This was my favorite part of the post: "I realize there is a difference between enrolling in a course and holding down a job, but character is character. You can’t turn it on for work and turn it off for school. It doesn’t work that way." I think this speaks volumes, because these students aren't getting the same valuable lessons until later in life, when they aren't likely to take it as seriously. No matter what, I think eventually these students will have the real world experience they need. However, in this day and age, they really cannot afford to lose out on it.