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Teach Teachers How to Create Magic. Perf. Christopher Emdin. Ted Talk. Oct. 2013. Web. 

Christopher Emdin talks about the magic that some teachers seem to have. This quality is often regarded as an indescribable factor that some people are just born with. Emdin denies this claim and says that the "magic" is in fact a very achievable quality and is also necessary for engaging students. He compares engaging teachers to preachers at black churches because of their ability to reel in their audience.

I really enjoy what Emdin is saying in this video. I strongly believe that anybody can be a teacher with the proper training. He says that the best way to learn this quality is to be around accomplished teachers who are skilled at engaging students in the classroom. If we can place more aspiring teachers in these classrooms, we will see an increased number of influential teachers. 

1. How can we ensure education students get placed with the proper teachers?

2. What happens if there are no truly engaging teachers near universities? (Unlikely, but worth entertaining)

3. What other professions require people to be genuinely engaging?

3 Rules to Spark Learning. Perf. Ramsey Musallam. Ted Talk. N.p., Apr. 2013. Web. 

Ramsey Musallam is a high school chemistry teacher whose teaching style and philosophy changed after recovering from a life threatening aneurism. He realized that student questions should guide the lesson, not a pre-scripted plan. He created three rules based on the confidence displayed by his surgeon; curiosity comes first, embrace the mess, and practice reflection. 

Before getting the aneurism, Musallam called his teaching style "pseudo-teaching." I think this is a great way to describe how many people teach. Everything in the classroom must be derived from the students in terms of what they need and how the class will changed their lived experience.

1. With this philosophy, how much planning should really be done for each class period?

2. Should it be more curricular or daily?

3. Can this approach affect classroom management and student behavior in a negative fashion? A positive fashion?