EDLD 5366 week 2 discussion post

When do we start teaching students about self-branding?

 As a middle school teacher, I have noticed that some of my students are starting to create their own brand as they start to transition from kids to teen-agers. Many of them change what they believe their branding is going to be, but some would like to be seen in a different light. We need to make them understand the meaning of branding and how to brand themselves. Along with teaching them branding we need to show them how many company’s logos have evolved as the company evolved, just as a child’s brand should change as they grow and mature. What concepts about branding are important to teach?

Just as each company grows and evolves logos reflect change in the philosophy and direction the company is heading in. Students will also go through their own changes as they grow as teen-ager into adults. A logo that highlights their uniqueness, a student should see that their own uniqueness is an attribute, not a disadvantage. In an environment where children try hard to fit in and follow the crowd, introducing them to how brand and teaching the wonders of being your own unique self and celebrating that uniqueness should be of importance of every teacher.
What strategies would you use to teach students about the concept of branding?

One activity that will give students ideas for creating their own brand would be to have the students create collages to include words that they believe describe them. I would ask the art teacher to work with me on this activity. Other sources would be both magazines and videos showing different logos and branding. Once they have an understanding of branding I would place them into various groups so that they could collaborate with each other to come up with a pseudo company brand. Here they can see that corporations’ subsidiaries carry their own logo but all fall under the main corporation logos that are used in the business world. Many students will be drawn to the logos of companies that are involved in their area of interest. By having them come up with a main brand, they can see that in business a company may be associated with different interests.

How can branding be used in an educational environment?

Branding is used from the start of child’s education, the school mascot is the first experience in branding. As they go through their educational career they associate with school branding and the development of their own branding by the type of students they hang out with. We just need to make them understand that even they may not create their own brand they become associated with a certain brand of student the hangout with. Creating your own logo is one of the projects used to help the students communicate who they are to the rest of the class. It helps the students bond with others, and highlight similarities and differences.