Though corny, I believe whole-heartedly in the sentiment that children are the future and our future depends largely on how we teach those children.
Why?
As a teacher I feel the unique opportunity, and stress, to instruct students not in the traditional canon of English and Literature the way I was taught but the added responsibility to account for technology, at times trying to catch my curriculum up with what students are using at home to communicate, to learn, to entertain themselves. I am responsible, in this new age of education, to fortify students with an education that will account for triumphant success by online ventures like Google, Facebook, and YouTube. These new giants in technology industry are the standards for success, or at least the golden ticket that was once promised by the perfect ACT score and an Ivy League education. And no where on the ACT, or any other standardized test, is there a question about URL’s, linking websites, or social networks that have made billions in the past few years.
My problem
My problem, in the big sense, is that I have to attempt to infiltrate a curriculum founded primarily on the traditional with the skills necessary, and demanded, to make it in this new, digital age. And I whole-heartedly agree with Clay Shirky’s sentiment about being on the verge of a tectonic shift, that the public is embracing, and has been embracing, a new way of interacting, through social networks, primarily through the use of their home computer, and this communication is the means by which people discuss, collaborate, research, learn, and evolve. The shared network known as the internet can be compared to nothing we have encountered, and yet my curriculum, though ahead of many in terms of English Language Arts Standards, is devastatingly lacking in preparing students to compete with the engineers and creators that exist in the online world. After all, Facebook was invented by a Harvard student who took a late-night idea and turned into an online empire.
With this in mind, what is my responsibility?
The Fuure of Education
The future of education is definitely in my hands. The mere fact that I am cognitively aware of the importance of technology towards the democratic education makes me feel like I’m the right track. I feel that the future of education is going to move from a discourse centered around the conversation happening between one teacher and about 28 students within a brick room and will soon encompass many teachers, fascilitating exploration through social online networks that prepare students not only for the problems of a real world but also how to communicate effectively in that real world. The teachers are going to exist in the school, I can’t see that changing, but they will be responsible for responsibly showing the students a new world, moving through a real world that is fast-paced, ever-changing, and constantly evolving because of participants. And by no means does this take away from the responsibility of the individual teacher. Far from that, teachers are going to have to raise their game, as communities (and countries) expect children to be able to communicate and participate in a global economy, a global network. With that being said, teachers are now responsible not for a curriculum or canon that is set in the stone of the past but instead in a program, an institution, that is founded on the wings of change, if I can be so cliche. The time is now to change. We are at a moment of change. The future president knows this change is necessary, other countries seem to have adopted this change, and our teachers are now holding this responsibility in their hands. Will higher wages make the change happen? Will teacher training make this happen? I don’t have all the answers, but I know that the way I teach now will, and should, be a foreign concept ten years from now, and hopefully we will be the new leaders in educational reform, and technology standards.
6 responses so far ↓
1
Vanna
// Aug 31, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Your challenge is how to be an agent of change during a time of transformation when most still want the standard classroom. We feel comfortable thinking about schooling in more traditional forms because it is what we know. How does some of your vision – like collaborating with other teachers / other classrooms become a reality? You are definitely on the right track.
2
Brett Moore
// Sep 9, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Brendan,
You are right even though it is corny all good teachers see the children as the future. I think as teachers we need to give our students opportunities to explore new technologies in the classroom even though we know they will be out of date soon. It is still important that they learn to go through the discovery process with these new technologies. Good ideas and blog.
3
Rachel Fruin
// Sep 18, 2008 at 9:08 am
Brendan,
I watched a video today that reminded me that children are our future: http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm . This video doesn’t emphasis the technology aspects you dealt with in your writing, however it does emphasis the teacher’s role in the education of today’s youth. Despite the changes in technology-in the world around us, and in schools-a teacher does much more than teach material like you mentioned. Teachers listen, comfort, encourage, discipline etc. which are also important aspects of a child’s education. And I think these things all come more naturally when there is a respect between students and the teacher. And I think that respect comes when teachers are meeting students where their interests lie, and when they present material that will matter to their future. So I think that integrating technology into the curriculum not only matters for these student’s futures, but also their present.
4
Lorikay Sartin
// Sep 30, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Brendan -
Liked your song
I agree that we have an awesome responsibility ahead of us. But as passionate educators – which it sounds like you are – we are an active part of that change from the “same ol’ same ol’ ” to the innovativeness of today. The old “traditional” things will always be there but as Rachel said, “…the curriculum not only matters for these student’s futures, but also their present.” I believe that teachers that take the initiative to learn new techniques and technologies are the first big step to preparing those students for their TODAYs and their TOMORROWs. We have similar philosophies.
5
Children are the Future… « The Future of Learning
// Sep 30, 2008 at 1:30 pm
[...] Children are the Future… September 30, 2008 Posted by insenar in Uncategorized. trackback I would like to say that I felt the passion and drive that Brendan expressed in his post, I Believe the Children are the Future”. He was emphatic about the need of students with traditional curriculum to forge ahead into the new digital age. He discussed the importance of the teacher’s role in that journey out of the confines of the 4 school walls to the vastness of the global classroom. His post was motivating and thought-provoking. Check it out! [...]
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Brendan Chambers
// Sep 30, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Thank you for all the comments so far. It is great to hear that so many educators are concerned about harnessing technology right now. What seems apparent is our general appreciation of technology in the classroom along with our understanding that students today are so much more aware, technically, than we appreciate them for. Even today, as I used a wiki in the classroom for my freshman to share responses about books they are reading, I was amazed at how well the students, as a whole, adopted the technology into the classroom. These students are familiar with User Names and Passwords, URL’s and Copy/Paste, basic functions of technology that make learning so much engaging. I think we need to appreciate how well students use technology, and I’m happy to see that those involved in the CTER program at U of I are dedicated to integrating technology while trusting that their students are wholly capable of integrating it themselves, with our guidance.
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