Don't change the player, change the game

Since I have started PGCE, I have been hearing the word pedagogy on a daily basis. I thought that all teachers are automatically pedagogues. It only made sense that way. Then I read DECODING DIGITAL PEDAGOGY, PT. 1: BEYOND THE LMS and it explained how not all teachers are pedagogues.

At first I thought Mr Knoetze was trying to mess with all our heads, because how could all teachers not be pedagogues when teaching is basically all about the pedagogy? Then as I read the article further, I understood what @slamteacher was trying to say. Teachers need not be pedagogues, just as pedagogues need not be teachers. Pedagogy is a constant willingness to learn and the many ways it is fueled. It also not limited to the teaching profession. Anyone can be a pedagogue.

This made me think about how there actually might be a difference between being a teacher and being an educator. A teacher is someone who is not necessarily a pedagogue and who teaches the content in a very mundane way. A teacher teaches the curriculum in a very traditional way. An educator is someone who does not teach the content for learners to memorize the work, but for learners to understand. An educator aims to educate children and would be constantly willing to learn and try new, innovative ways to teach learners. An educator would them embody the meaning of a pedagogue.

In a society where the only constant factor is change, this is needed. Educators who will always strive to be different and creative in their teaching methods. Technology is slowly taking over our world, but it does not need to take over your classroom. As @jessifer says, "The digital pedagogue teaches her tools, doesn’t let them teach her."

Educators should be able to use digtal pedagogy to enhance or change children's experiences of education. If a child does not 'bloom', grow or understand the content of the work, then do not change the child, but change the environment. As digital pedagogues, we have the ability to change the environment of the class at any given moment. Let us find a balance between traditional teaching methods and progressive teaching methods.