You know, I thought I was doing pretty well keeping my students abreast of the new advances in technology, what with my implementation of the Virtual Think Aloud project I learned about in 540 and my setting up a class web site, (which can be accessed here, after you type mrsleblanc for username and patriots for password. I haven't updated since the end of school, though. FYI). But after reading chpater 10 in Adolescent Literacy, my mind is swirling with new tech-saavy ideas I can take back to my new class of 7th graders and implement from the first day of school next year. How can I afford not to, what with this world of ours flattening out like it is?
My dad read Friedman's book last year, and he would call me from Texas, mostly to scare me, I think. He'd spout out frightening statistics, like the fact that the U.S. has 7,000 higher-ed institutions, but India and China are getting 70% of the jobs, or something. (I've mostly made up those figures, but I'm pretty sure it was something close to that.)
One of the things I remember he said that most struck me, particularly because I have grown up in the age that is obsessed with all things pop culture (I love "The Soup"!), was this...
"In China, Bill Gates is their Britney Spears," he said. "The problem in this country, is that Britney Spears is our Britney Spears." (shudder)
How do we teach our students the importance of becoming globally minded, of acquiring skills their parents not only never dreamed of having, but simply never dreamed of? Setting up a class blog or interactive web site is fantastic, but is it enough? Do you know you're standing on the cutting edge because no one around you is practicing those skills?
Some of the more...ummm...experienced teachers at my school--the ones whose frown lines deepen as the school day approaches, even after having their morning coffee--have expressed their frustrations with the students of today and their fleeting attention spans. But these teachers grew up in a different age, one that did not include pop-up ads and Myspace updates and instant text messaging. We are teaching a new crop of students whose methods of absorbing information have shifted, and our methods of getting our curriculum into their brains needs to reflect this societal change.
Phew. Enough deep thinking for one night.
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"In China, Bill Gates is their Britney Spears," he said. "The problem in this country, is that Britney Spears is our Britney Spears." (shudder)
This? Is so true. We are idolizing all the wrong people, and we're getting distracted and fallinh behind because of that.
Also, I really agree with you on the point that it's hard to figure out what it is that we need to be teaching our students. How do we figure out how technologically savvy they need to be? And then, how do we keep up with all of that? Of course, then I consider the other issue: if I have students who don't even know how to do a webquest, how do I bridge the gap between that total ignorance and where they really need to be?
I'm reading this and thinking that you've found your readers/writers project topic. Suggested additional reading - a report (available online) entitled "Tough Choices or Tough Times" and material on the website of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. We'll talk more... (now, I need to go dig into your class website).
Did you find anything compelling in the blog model?
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