If you were to ask most teachers why they chose their profession, chances are that they would tell you it's because they want to help people or they want to improve the world. They may even say that they are lifelong learners themselves and want to share their passion for a certain curriculum. As an educator, I am proud of my job. I enjoy all of those aforementioned things. It is nice to be in a profession where you truly do make a difference in people's lives.
So then, if you were a teacher who really believed in helping children and improving the world, how far would you go to make a difference? Wouldn't you try your hardest to help those children? To improve their lives? Do you only have a responsibility to the children in your classes, or do you view every child as your student? What if you were asked to build up and support other teachers? Does that sound unreasonable if you truly want to change the world? Why then, do a lot of teachers protect their work like it's in danger? Why do they safe guard every bit of information? Wouldn't it be better to work together to help each other out? Imagine a world where educators helped each other improve the lives of children. Teachers, uniting to share ideas, philosophies, and practices to strengthen others in areas they are weak. The idea of the PLC (which is not just used in education) is based on this idea. Teachers working together to reach goals and share practices with others. Free-flowing discussions that lead to revolutionary changes in methods of education that are used to help students. That is education at its best.
Let's go back to 1776, here in America. What if the French refused to aid us in our time of need? How would America be different? How about if Michael Jordan was only interested in HIS career? How great would the Chicago Bulls have been in the 90's? If Morpheus never taught Neo, would we all still be in the Matrix? I can go on with these examples, but I think you get the point. In each of these situations, one party worked to help out another for the greater good. Teachers are supposed to be the ones we look up to. They should be able to rise above the selfishness that destroys motivation, inspiration, and dedication.
Teaching is NOT an easy job. I have known a good amount of people who have attempted this career as a second option, and found that out the hard way. Heck, it's even difficult for people who specialized in the area. Prolonging the career of other teachers would be more likely if they were given the assistance they needed from other professionals. Working together can only make you stronger and benefit the children you are there to help.
I find it sad when educators lock themselves away and refuse to share their knowledge. Those actions are petty and only serve to hurt the profession, the children and the educators. If an educator truly is in this for the right reason, they would be able to forget their hubris and focus on what really matters: the children.
#lifelonglearer
#21stcenturyeducator
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Welcome to the 21st Century!
I was sold a bag of lies as a child! Education is NOTHING like I watched in the Jetsons during my youth. Well, to be honest, (#tbh in the 21st century) I have encountered some educators that are nothing more than robots, as illustrated in the popular tv show. While education has grown, some educators refuse to change.
Teachers today are held accountable for so much more than ever. With educational reforms like Our Nation at Risk, NCLB and now, Common Core, the job of a teacher has grown more demanding. Teachers are asked to develop and teach innovative curriculum, be cognizant of all manner of social concerns like bullying and dating, prepare students to take and pass paper/pencil state assessments (that, in most cases, contradict the innovative curriculum the teachers were asked to develop to begin with), be masters of student discipline, and fund their own classrooms! All of this is expected to be done on a national starting salary of $36,141 (about $8,000 less than the current national salary). I really don't want to make this about money, though, so I won't.
Teachers get into the profession because they LOVE to develop children and mold the future. They want to make a difference in the world. This profession gives them a chance to show how much they value being a lifelong learner. There are a lot of reasons. We do not get into this job because of the lucrative pay (darn, I brought it up again), because we love to raise other people's children, or because we love all of the "vacation time" (most teachers spend the a good amount of their time "off" in unpaid professional developments).
Now, it's the 21st century and the world is changing. Advancements are made in the world with the assistance of technology every second. We are preparing students for jobs that have not even been created yet. Teachers need to think outside the box to develop their students skills based on the community's needs. Individualized education is more important then ever. This is a concept that I toyed with in my classroom this year. As much as possible, I tried to avoid archaic designed textbooks, and did my best to create curriculum that would allow my students to problem-solve and acquire knowledge that was unique and authentic. With tools like tablets, cell phones, and various forms of social media, this was the most successful group of students I have ever taught. They would constantly challenge common thoughts and research different perspectives and then synthesize that information into their own authentic learning. All while guided by thought provoking questions and discussions. The state assessment that the students took were nothing like they had been working with all year, because they were challenged to scale back their outside-the-box thinking, to show their knowledge in a 20th century way. This is just one of the downsides to education today.
As educators, we need to start looking at how we can best serve our students. Textbooks and straightforward information have their place, but we need to do MORE than that to be effective. How can we change our classrooms to lose its walls? Schools should become a centralized building where some, not all, of the learning takes place. Classrooms can take place in the community, not just the school building. Doing this will also help to make the schools more green. Students need to be able to reach educators at all times to assist their education, through various communication tools (ie Social Media). If we are to develop lifelong learners, we need to stop limiting students' ideas and give them tools to facilitate their own learning.
Cultural barriers can also be eliminated with the use of technology. With various translation programs and information about other cultures at our fingertips (thank you, Google!), we are more prepared to assist students who can't speak the same languages.
Middle schools need to become the ground where core content is provided. High schools should evolve to a place where some core content is gained and more specialized training occurs (this would reduce the amount of dropouts and ensure that more students are given tools to succeed, in my opinion as well).
With the world around us changing every second, not just teachers, but EVERYONE, has to find their own niche in the world in order to survive comfortably. Adapt or die. Welcome to the 21st century.
Teachers today are held accountable for so much more than ever. With educational reforms like Our Nation at Risk, NCLB and now, Common Core, the job of a teacher has grown more demanding. Teachers are asked to develop and teach innovative curriculum, be cognizant of all manner of social concerns like bullying and dating, prepare students to take and pass paper/pencil state assessments (that, in most cases, contradict the innovative curriculum the teachers were asked to develop to begin with), be masters of student discipline, and fund their own classrooms! All of this is expected to be done on a national starting salary of $36,141 (about $8,000 less than the current national salary). I really don't want to make this about money, though, so I won't.
Teachers get into the profession because they LOVE to develop children and mold the future. They want to make a difference in the world. This profession gives them a chance to show how much they value being a lifelong learner. There are a lot of reasons. We do not get into this job because of the lucrative pay (darn, I brought it up again), because we love to raise other people's children, or because we love all of the "vacation time" (most teachers spend the a good amount of their time "off" in unpaid professional developments).
Now, it's the 21st century and the world is changing. Advancements are made in the world with the assistance of technology every second. We are preparing students for jobs that have not even been created yet. Teachers need to think outside the box to develop their students skills based on the community's needs. Individualized education is more important then ever. This is a concept that I toyed with in my classroom this year. As much as possible, I tried to avoid archaic designed textbooks, and did my best to create curriculum that would allow my students to problem-solve and acquire knowledge that was unique and authentic. With tools like tablets, cell phones, and various forms of social media, this was the most successful group of students I have ever taught. They would constantly challenge common thoughts and research different perspectives and then synthesize that information into their own authentic learning. All while guided by thought provoking questions and discussions. The state assessment that the students took were nothing like they had been working with all year, because they were challenged to scale back their outside-the-box thinking, to show their knowledge in a 20th century way. This is just one of the downsides to education today.
As educators, we need to start looking at how we can best serve our students. Textbooks and straightforward information have their place, but we need to do MORE than that to be effective. How can we change our classrooms to lose its walls? Schools should become a centralized building where some, not all, of the learning takes place. Classrooms can take place in the community, not just the school building. Doing this will also help to make the schools more green. Students need to be able to reach educators at all times to assist their education, through various communication tools (ie Social Media). If we are to develop lifelong learners, we need to stop limiting students' ideas and give them tools to facilitate their own learning.
Cultural barriers can also be eliminated with the use of technology. With various translation programs and information about other cultures at our fingertips (thank you, Google!), we are more prepared to assist students who can't speak the same languages.
Middle schools need to become the ground where core content is provided. High schools should evolve to a place where some core content is gained and more specialized training occurs (this would reduce the amount of dropouts and ensure that more students are given tools to succeed, in my opinion as well).
With the world around us changing every second, not just teachers, but EVERYONE, has to find their own niche in the world in order to survive comfortably. Adapt or die. Welcome to the 21st century.
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