In the fall of 2009 I was entering my eleventh year in teaching. My
previous years of experience had been in inner-city Minneapolis, MN
and Indio, CA. My time in these schools developed the skills a teacher
needs to survive in today’s hostile world of education. My classroom
management skills were solid and my ability to get my students to score
well on the all important state tests was nearly unmatched. I was up for
evaluation that year and was excited to show off what I could do.
In October I was evaluated and came out with flying colors. I received
exceeds expectations on all parts of my evaluation. I should have
been on top of the world. By every measure of educational success I was
there, but something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
My students were sitting in rows. They knew how to pass tests, but
they didn’t know how to apply these skills. They could read a story, but
few could discuss it. They were willing to complete the work but were
not passionate about learning. When I would ask a question ten students
would respond, but what about the other twenty-two? What about
those students who already knew how to do most of the curriculum?
What about those students that, no matter how hard I tried, still remained
below grade level? And even more troubling, what about all the
skills I wasn’t teaching? Skills like the ability to use technology to access
information, or the ability to organically collaborate to complete a task.
The world outside of school is changing faster than ever before,
so I had to ask myself a serious question. Is what I am presently teaching
preparing my students for the year 1983 or 2018? The answer to this
question was simple.
I knew I had to do more. I knew I had to push myself and my students to
go beyond what was presently being asked of us. I began to passionately explore
what 21st century literacy is. I began to read ferociously. I read books like
Daniel Pink’s Drive and Jeff Jarvis’ What Would Google Do? I found organizations
like Edutopia and Edu 2.0. I found podcasts like Buzz Outloud. I began to
dive in and change the way I was teaching. I developed Mp3 guided readings
to increase participation. I began to use the on-line school I set up on EDU 2.0
to organize on-line lessons and discussions. I held a parent meeting to elicit
their thoughts and to explain my dreams for their children.
Their response was overwhelmingly positive. It turned out that there was
a pent up demand for educational reform. Shortly after this meeting I asked
my principal to allow me to loop with my class and teach them fifth grade. I
wanted more time to explore with this group of students what it meant to be
educators and learners in the 21st century. The past year and half has been an
adventure like none other in my twelve years of teaching.
I hardly have all the answers. Instead I am learning to ask more questions. What
skills will my students need in the world of tomorrow? What is my role as their
teacher? How can I make technology a part of the curriculum? How can I have
my students apply their skills in real world situations? How can I instill in my
students a passion for learning? How do I measure success in teaching? Is there
more to education than No Child Left Behind?
Finding answers to these questions is what drives me to come to work each and everyday.
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