TED Community » Michelle Wooten

More About Me

I'm passionate about

learning, writing, creating peace.

Talk to me about

poetry, learning, stars, space, creating, engaging learners, thinking, God, Joy, Love, Peace, Healing, Wonder, being one's best, mind, Spirit, history

People don't know that I'm good at

writing poetry, breaking a math concept down into understandable pieces, building rapport with troubled teens

My TED Story

I love TED! I accidentally found a TED video and have been hooked ever since!

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +2

  A comment on Talk: Naturally 7 beatboxes a whole band

  May 30 2012: Love this! Skill, talent, heart, soul, harmony, melody, connection ... they have it all! Thanks TED!

• A reply on Conversation: Do artistic/creative individuals' make better teachers?

  May 7 2012: James ... that would be fantastic. One thing that could aid us as teachers is looking into flipped teaching, and using class time for project time and the "extras" that we don't have time for in class. However, as I consider this as a possibility I am confronted with several "buts"...
  But what about those students with no internet service?
  But what about those students who do not do the required work at home (even just watching a video)?
  But what if I cannot create an engaging lesson for home, or find one already done?
  
  I am hopeful that I won't let these worries keep me from trying!

• A reply on Conversation: Do artistic/creative individuals' make better teachers?

  May 7 2012: Hey Derek!
  I am finding some networks for education, Linkedin has some, and Texas is going to Project Share which could be a wonderful way for teachers to network. However, I often find myself inspired by what goes on in other fields, which is how I found TED!
  
  For me, education should be about my students, about helping them grow, learn, learn to learn. It isn't always, and that frustrates me. I think networks help us remember our purpose, keep us on track, encourage us when we are feeling inadequate ... I, personally, would love to see this explosion!

• A comment on Conversation: Do artistic/creative individuals' make better teachers?

  May 4 2012: We do get burned out. We get burned out, not just from doing the same thing year after year, but from a lack of REAL interaction with our peers. We plan, but we don't discover or evaluate together. My campus initiated a project this year trying to get teachers to share great ideas by inviting other teachers to come and observe. Few teachers participated, and when one of us DID share, few came to observe.
  
  I think we also get "scared" by the push for our students to perform on tests, so we miss opportunities to learn for fun! I think, then, that for us as teachers to not get stuck, WE EACH have to make the commitment to not get stuck, to reach out to others for ideas and support, to get involved in learning more and bringing more to our students so our students can be more involved. I am not talking about more dog and pony shows, but we do have to enrich ourselves in some way in order to not get stuck.

• A reply on Conversation: Do artistic/creative individuals' make better teachers?

  May 2 2012: As a teacher, I thank you. I teach with some extremely dedicated, enthusiastic teachers. We all work diligently to keep our students actively engaged and learning and THINKING. What I have learned, is that worked for me as a learner, may not work for my students. I have learned that being engaged with each other does not mean that students are engaged in the learning process and that sometimes that may LOOK boring. The excitement, the creativity comes when after a student has learned something, that STUDENT can say: I understand! I get it! I see what you mean! And then, if that student can use what was learned in a slightly different way? There is the light.
  Maybe sometimes creativity LOOKS boring, because it is not what we are currently used to!