In the forward to the book 21st Century Skills, Ken Kay says "I believe we are on the threshold of a tipping point in public education." I think that this is even more true than it was four years ago when the book was written. Pressure to meet the demands of the adult workplace, compete with the global community, keep up with the advances in technology, and change the way we assess students are reaching critical mass.
As mentioned in the recent posts of some of my peers, our classrooms do not look like they did in the 1960s because we do have a lot more technology at school and are doing a lot of creative things with technology in our classrooms. Every day, I see teachers doing interesting and engaging things with technology, so I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.
On the other hand, I see a lot of stuff that does mirror older times as well. We're still doing a lot of sitting, synchronized assignments, and regurgitating memorized facts. My daughter recently graduated from high school with honors, but she will be the first to admit that the was not required to do a lot of critical thinking. She was able to say what was expected of her to say, do what was required of her, and get A's on her summative assessments. She did spend a lot of her time working toward her A's. But, in her first year of college when she was expected to state her case, defend her positions, and forge working relationships with her professors, she was learning to do these things for the very first time and it was a major adjustment for her.
When I hear even"Academically Gifted" students get visibly upset because they're asked to do something without being told exactly how to do it, it makes me think that we're missing something. Along the same lines; In my previous career managing a team of adult IT Professionals, it was always discouraging when telling me was the solution to most problems. From setting personal boundaries with colleagues to addressing inefficiencies with the workflow, it did not occur to many of them to come to me with a good idea, just the complaint.
In no way am I intending to be derogatory. In fact, I think that we could be doing all the right things, and we probably are, but we may still feel like it is not enough. As an Integrator, I am exposed to endless PD, feeds, posts, email lists, user groups, and the like, espousing what we should be doing with technology and why the way we're doing it isn't working. For example, see the video we watched this week on the Vialogs Site or take a look at my Tweet Deck from 5 minutes ago below where nine of the sixteen most recent posts are proclaimations of the authors' theories on educational technology .
I agree with the sentiments, but I often can't say what the best thing for us to do today would be and it can be very overwhelming to listen to all this rhetoric without a good new idea or short-term road map.
I think that it is difficult for us to see this whole situation clearly because we're smack dab in the middle of it: just as it is not possible to see evolution clearly as it is happening. Additionally, letting go of too much of the "tried and true" can feel quite risky to many teachers. Most people, including myself, are very uncomfortable when they don't know what is going to happen next and when mistakes are inevitable. So, while we step away from what has always worked and toward the groundlessness of a new ideal, we need to find things that make us feel successful in the moment.
What I really appreciate, and find the most useful are the reflections of my peers who have tried something new and what was successful or not successful about doing it. I appreciate sharing and learning about specific ideas, tools, tips, and tricks that I can use to improve my own methods or pass on to others. Having some time to improve on my blogs, use my YouTube Channels differently, and see what ideas my colleagues have for using them a prime example. I also think it is very important to be willing to make mistakes and accepting of them when we do. Not only will we learn more from them than any book, class, or video, but our students will benefit greatly by watching us as role models of what to do when we don't know what exactly what to do.
21st Century Skills Bellanca, James A. 2010 Solution Tree Press. Bloomington, IN (Kindley page numbers)
Great reflection Sarah. You bring up several good points, I'll comment on a couple. One, "..it did not occur to many of them to come to me with a good idea, just the complaint." These were probably products of schools where regurgitation and rote repetition was the norm. All the more reason for us to teach resiliency and problem solving. And two, we do have the best job because we get to work with teachers doing wonderful things with technology.
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