There is no doubt in my mind that the education system is smothering the spirit of learning in our children. Teaching to the test, the denial of the need for technology in the classroom, homework overkill and the lack of critical thinking assignments that foster problem solving and creativity are just part of the problem. The real mission of education is to engage students in the process of learning. Engaging students in the process creates lifelong learners; learners who understand the value of information and know how to find, evaluate, use, share and ultimately create new information. What happened to the belief that learning should be fun not boring or nearly torturous. Unfortunately, for so many bright minds, learning has become a sentence of death by memorization and homework.
My perspective on technology:
Being a certified teacher and a technology librarian, I have strong opinions about the use of technology in the classroom . The fact is today's students, have never known a world without technology. They have grown up connected. Information is available to them instantly anytime, anywhere. Driven by their own interests and motivations, a sense of real life need or purpose and access to the Internet, they use search engines to find information and educate themselves. Technology is an integral part of how they learn.
When students enter a classroom where technology is not being used as a tool for learning they feel disengaged and disconnected. They begin to devalue what happens in the classroom because it seems foreign and archaic to them. They assume that the teacher is disconnected and that his/her methods are stale and therefore, their perception is that the content must also be stale. It is like taking a child who grew up in the 70s watching their favorite shows on a color TV and forcing them to watch these shows in black and white or making them listen to their favorite shows on the radio. If you are a child of the 70s like me you probably just rolled your eyes and thought "That would stink, why would anybody do that when color TVs are available and a part of our everyday lives?" That is exactly the way our students feel when we force them to learn in a disconnected, technology-less environment.
Administrators must realize that the "technology boom" has forever changed the way students learn. We no longer need to teach our children to memorize facts and dates. Technology has made these skills, which were important in the past, nearly obsolete. Technology has also made it possible for us to teach students content in context, inspire them a with a purpose greater than a test score, homework points or a passing grade, give them the opportunity to reach across the globe or into their communities, to create, design, code, make a difference and change the world.
Today, school administrators and funders must commit to implementing the networks and infrastructures that support the technologies that enable our students to engage in becoming self-directed learners, to think critically and to be creative. We must adapt our curriculum and train our teachers to use and incorporate the tools of the 21st century into their lesson plans. We must stop debating the importance of the use of technology in the classroom. Ask any student...there is no debate. Technology exists and is accessible so therefore, it should be used as a tool for teaching and learning.
Our lack of commitment to implementing technology in our classrooms, current philosophy of teaching-to-the-test, and our lackluster funding initiatives are slowly crushing our ability as educators to create a nation of engaged, lifelong learners and my hopes for a brighter educational future for our children.
Links to others whose thoughts support my ramblings.
Blog Post:
Mrsmomblog: How Common Core is Slowly Changing My Child
Article:
The Atlantic. My Daughter's Homework is Killing me.
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