Wes Fryer Chapter 1

     In the first chapter of Fryer's book I thought there was a lot of information I already knew.  However, he does bring up a few points that I agree and disagree with.  First, I agree that as teachers we need to encourage more creative learning in the classroom and not learning to get a good grade or avoid punishment.  I also agree that we need to stop putting so much emphasis on standardized testing.  It seems that students are learning more about how to pass a standardized test these days rather than actually learning valuable content.  I happen to disagree that we as teachers, should accept and integrate cell phones into the classroom.  I think that technology in the classroom is great, but a personalized device will become too much of a distraction.  Students don't view cell phones as  assets to learning, but toys to play with.  I like the reference that Fryer makes when he says that we learn best play playing and being creative like when we were all kids.  We do naturally learn about our confusing world by playing around and becoming creative.  We need to be more creative in the classrooms today.  There are ways to teach information that will be covered in a standardized test in a creative way.  I think technology is too big to ignore and will  undoubtedly play a huge role in the classroom.