Chapter 1 The Game Has Changed
"It is the learners who will inherit the future; the "so-called learned'" who think they "know it all" will find themselves frustrated by a world that has passed them by."
After reading Chapter One from the text please respond to the following reflections and reactions.
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8 comments:
I found interest in this article in a couple of ways. 1st was the fact that as a department we have been preaching about the fact that the job market has been changing. I like the term "knowledge worker". Gone are the days of learning one skill and being able to get steady work unless you are willing to be retrained. Also as a department we have been harping about the idea of cross curriculum learning and team taught situations. But the universal answer is always "no money in the budget for that". I can remember when I first starting teaching that some of the boys would come to school late on a pretty regular bases because they were doing farm chores. It got to the point where I wouldn't even count them absent because I knew they would show up eventually. I would just leave the back door unlock and they would filter in. Now a days when a kid works a part-time job they don't need much of an excuse to miss school because they had to work. The farm kids were putting in as many hours as todays students put for part-time work but they always managed to show up. And when you had a problem with a most students, a phone call was all that was needed to take care of the problem. Know the response is "it's your problem not mine". I would hate to see what the withdrawl rate would be with some of these kids if you took away their phones for any length of time. I also want to know who they are talking to at 9 in the morning. All of their friends are in school, aren't they? A majority of paper work/book work is done via the internet these days. I will find articles on the internet and make up a work sheet and have the kids do their assignments from the computer and their is no complaints. If I have them do work from a book, all I get is complaining. It is the same stuff only presented in different manor, go figure.
I also found this chapter interesting and eye-opening. Today there are so many school districts that you hear about with budget problems and cuts, lay offs, classes being cut, referendums, etc... I never knew that the money is usually there, just being spent in the wrong places. As a music teacher and musician, I know the importance of music and the benefits that it gives to the students. Yet, district after district puts it on the chopping block to make sure the money is there for something else.
I agree with pete on cell phones. I think that almost everyone, including most of us, completely relies on them all the time. Students are just as bad, always having them with them during school, making calls, sending text messages. The way I see it is that we got along just fine years back before they were so mainstream, why are they so necessary all of the time now. As we look forward to make things better, I think we have opportunities to look back on how things used to be as well.
It was also sad to read about the way children are brought up. Church and family education is apparently a thing of the past, which is really sad. I can see it in the attitudes, work ethic and outlooks of students. This reminded me of a few years back, before I was teaching and worked in a day care. I figured on average out how many hours I was seeing some of the kids in my room, then how many hours they were seeing their parents. The difference was almost ridiculous. I know that day care has really become something more than just "babysitting" but the lack of family interaction was scary. There are certain things that need to be learned at home, which are getting away from us these days. The family interaction is too important to lose and can't really be replaced by anyone else.
Wow! I felt like the author took many of the thoughts I have about education right out of my head. I found myself writing along notes in response everywhere. I have been teaching for 6 years and find there are so many overwhelming problems with education and I don't know where to begin or where I could truly make a difference... so I go on doing my own thing in my own classroom as I think many educators do because there isn't the time to find the solutions. I have stared to serve on a differentiation committee in my school. I have found some teachers embrace this philosophy, while many others push it away feeling like it is just one more initiative they need to keep up with. I tend to believe very strongly in this concept and think that embracing this can only help many of the other challenges faced in the classroom, but I do understand where many others are coming from. We often have several new "focus areas" or initiatives each year making teachers feel pulled in so many directions that we are left feeling like we are not doing any of them to the best of our ability.
I also agree with the idea that many students will be passed by in the world. I feel we are doing a disservice to many students in our current education system. Many teachers are still in the mindset that we need to teach them "what" instead of "how" but this way of thinking sets many up to fail on their own later. However, in teacher defense, many teachers still teach the "what" because they feel forced by standardized testing, administration, parent influence, and time constraints.
One other topic I really agreed with is the idea of shifting priorities in our schools. There are now so many single parent families and dual working families that many parents leave the job to teach morals and values up to the schools. I find this so frustrating!! As a Family and Consumer Education teacher I feel the family has the single greatest responsibility and influence in a child's life. Although I believe it is one of my goals to create a "good citizen" and not just a good student, there are already too many demands placed on educators. We can't do it all leaving many students to learn some of the most valuable lessons from peers, media, and other unreliable sources that don't always have the best interest of the child at hand.
I believe the reason educational problems are so overwhelming is that it is not just up to the school systems to fix them!! The solutions need to come from everyone in society. However, when society does not value education the way it used to, as stated in the text, the true problems cannot be fixed, only patched.
I liked the first chapter of the book. There were many points that several of us at work have discussed before. It is amazing to me how times have changed even since I was in highschool over 10 years ago.
One section of Chapter 1 that I found the most true was Shifting Priorities. It is so true that some communities are more concerned about tax cuts rather than what's best for the schools and our children. I ended up moving back to the town I grew up in and boy, it has changed. We now have three elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 enormous highschool. Recently, our town went through a lot just to get the new schools. The single families and elederly did not want it. It was interesting to read that in the 1950's, they'd go to bat for it.
Another interesting point was regarding college. I like it when they said "It's now up to those who can afford it, not those who deserve it." I knew 12 people who dropped out of college before their second semester of their freshman year. They didn't want to be there. They didn't want to work hard or learn. Unfortunately, their are kids out their wanting to go and can't.
Lastly, the "latch-key kids" struck home with me. We have many students at our school coming home to no one...having too much time on their hands. That never leads to anything good and when parents are approached about issues at school, there is the "not my child" look and it "must be you...you must have a personality conflict with my child" statement.
There are times when I feel old, and other times when I feel like no time has passed at all. Except for the references to the internet and other technology this ten year old chapter seemed like it was written thirty years ago. Yes, I have been teaching almost that long (a couple years as a sub, then seven years in Kansas, two years in Vermont, and the last nineteen in Wisconsin). So many of the problems, societal changes, etc. mentioned in the chapter were very real concerns when I started teaching in the 70's.
I was one of those energetic young teachers who was going to go out and change how kids learned! We were going to teach them the hows rather than the whats; we were going to get them to be life long learners, and to get their parents more involved. We were going to try more innovative ways to "hook" them. We were going to be agents of change and better education. And you know what? Some of it worked!
Integrated classes and subjects, the middle school concept, mod scheduling, site based management of the schools - it all worked! But with it came the complaints - too much unscheduled time, too much responsibility placed on the students, too much responsibility taken from the administrators, not enough money, too hard to schedule, "we didn't do it that way when I was in school", etc. And the worst of all was to toss out what you've been doing (even though it works) and do the "latest and greatest".
Yes, it seems that the game has changed. And yet... it is also true that, really, the game IS change. So maybe it is only the uniforms and players that have changed and that the problems confronting teachers just go on and on.
Chapter 1 was interesting and also very real. So many things in society and school have changed. The days of respect for teaching and teachers has changed. Most of my students come from difficult homes without parental support. I try to instill respect and responsibility into my program but I also know they go home to the same situations. Understanding that I have no control over home gives me some frustration. I can do my best with my situations at school.
I'm concerned with the number of students who might slip through the cracks. Education is an important job and critical for the success of our future. I think teaching "how" is more important than teaching "what". Most teachers and districts are so driven by standardized testing. The main focus is students scoring advanced or proficient. We have staff meetings and this subject is the entire agenda of the meeting. My philosophy is very different. It may not be the best but I believe students need to also focus on appropriate behaviors and how to get along with others. In the future job market getting along with co-workers will be important.
It's very sad to see the diminish of the family. Most students attend day care after and sometimes before school. Our district started full day kindergarten a few years ago. At first half of the parents wanted full day and the others wanted half day. The full day kindergarten was students who previously were in day care. The half day was students with stay home moms. Now everyone is in full day. It's very sad to me. Our economy sometimes doesn't allow parents to stay home or parents don't want to make sacrifices. I hope family time starts to become a priority again. That time is precious and can't be replaced by school or day care.
The Game Has Changed.
I really liked what toddnova said,
"really, the game IS change". That sure sums up what teaching is; and maybe what LIFE is, too.
I have been enjoying reading the comments from the other class participants. It is interesting to hear the perspectives of those who have been teaching for quite awhile and those who are relatively new to teaching. Surely, some of us have seen some things come and go a couple of times already. But there certainly have been some major shifts in education and some major changes that have been for the good. For the most part, in education as in life, it is less painful and more rewarding if we understand that education IS change. It is not about trying to keep something the way it was in the "good old days"--these ARE the good old days that we're in right now!
Here were some of the main points from the chapter that stuck with me.
1. Eric Jensen's quote that it's not about the "problems". It's about the "vision and possibility". A shift in consciousness about how we view what we deal with in education makes all the difference. Simple but true and it applies to all areas.
2. Greater velocity of change. I hear a lot of complaint about how fast things are moving; about how intense things are now; about how busy everyone is. There is some truth to this and some precautions we have to take. However, there is also an increase in awareness levels, a greater understanding of connectedness, a better chance for a shift in consciousness that includes all.
3. So...Now What? I liked the reminder that we cannot simply search around, desperately, for answers. It is not about answers. It is about who we are and what we bring? That makes it less overwhelming to me. That is something I can deal with.
It will be fun to explore the rest of the book.
The timeliness of this chapter is uncanny. Earlier this week I spent 4 hours at a Site Council meeting during part of which we analyzed data from last year's assessments and part of which we talked about the goals for the upcoming school year. One of our district's strategic planning goals for the next few years is to "integrate technology into all curriculum to improve problem solving abilities." To that end we were presented with information about how outdated any technological instruction kids receive today will be in just a few years. That the goal of this instruction has to be for students to know how to access the information they need to stay current in technology. It's true! and not just in the area of technology! Students need to learn to work in groups, to be responsible for becoming expert on any number of areas in the work place to which they might be assigned...essentially to be prepared to be a life long learner, as a means of necessity rather than just personal growth. I have enjoyed reading the comments from other classmates. We are, apparently, a diverse group...I guess reflective of many groups. We too come to this learning with different motivations, different experiences and different views. We also come with some commanalities...like a desire to make difference, to be life-long learners ourselves, and a compassion for the students we teach. It's refreshing to know that the "changes" or "cycles" we're experiencing will be addressed by such dedicated professionals and with such passion. We'll continue to strive for our students to attain the kind of education that makes them thinkers and problem solvers, adults who will work to find a better way for the generations to come. It is the only way the world won't pass them by.
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