My students no longer need me to teach content. Everything they might wish to learn is freely available on the internet. Even MIT provides free and open access to all lectures online. What then is my role?
My job is to teach thinking.
My job is to help them learn to think critically about the information they are encountering.
My job is to teach them to check the credentials of media producers to determine the validity of the information they are viewing.
My job is to help them recognize the impact and consequences of decisions in this rapidly changing world.
My job is to help them articulate ideas fluently so they can be effective participants in this global conversation.
My job is to help them learn to use modern forms of communication - search engines, databases, blogs, videos, webpages, social media, Web 2.0 and the rapidly evolving 3.0.
My job is to ask probing questions that require them to think deeply about important ideas and develop a personal critical stance.
My job is to help them recognize bias, to see how social media is structured to promote certain behaviours, to recognize when and how they are being manipulated.
My job is to ensure
that they have a strong foundation in math, science and technology as these skills are fundamental to our evolving world.
My job is to help them develop strategies for learning.
My job is to provide them with opportunities to explore ideas through the arts in order to create meaning and understanding.
My job is to provide them with opportunities to develop collaborative skills.
My job is to help them understand that even at the age of 10, when they are online they are building a public profile.
My job is to encourage flexibility, creativity, resourcefulness and self-direction so that can they can continually adapt to a rapidly changing world.
My job is to provide my students with real-world opportunities to make meaningful contributions to the development of our global society.
My job is still to call home when the work is not being done, to identify students who are struggling and provide them with support and to collect money for field trips and pizza days.
New Addition: My job is to let my students lead the way.
My job has become interesting again. Having survived the standardized test years, when my students sat bored to death while we used our pink, blue and yellow highlighters to write a 5 line response showing our restatement, evidence from the text and personal opinion in a formulaic answer on a topic we cared nothing about so that we could bump up our test scores on EQAO, I have to say, HOORAY!!!!!!
My job is to teach thinking.
My job is to help them learn to think critically about the information they are encountering.
My job is to teach them to check the credentials of media producers to determine the validity of the information they are viewing.
My job is to help them recognize the impact and consequences of decisions in this rapidly changing world.
My job is to help them articulate ideas fluently so they can be effective participants in this global conversation.
My job is to help them learn to use modern forms of communication - search engines, databases, blogs, videos, webpages, social media, Web 2.0 and the rapidly evolving 3.0.
My job is to ask probing questions that require them to think deeply about important ideas and develop a personal critical stance.
My job is to help them recognize bias, to see how social media is structured to promote certain behaviours, to recognize when and how they are being manipulated.
My job is to ensure
that they have a strong foundation in math, science and technology as these skills are fundamental to our evolving world.
My job is to help them develop strategies for learning.
My job is to provide them with opportunities to explore ideas through the arts in order to create meaning and understanding.
My job is to provide them with opportunities to develop collaborative skills.
My job is to help them understand that even at the age of 10, when they are online they are building a public profile.
My job is to encourage flexibility, creativity, resourcefulness and self-direction so that can they can continually adapt to a rapidly changing world.
My job is to provide my students with real-world opportunities to make meaningful contributions to the development of our global society.
My job is still to call home when the work is not being done, to identify students who are struggling and provide them with support and to collect money for field trips and pizza days.
New Addition: My job is to let my students lead the way.
My job has become interesting again. Having survived the standardized test years, when my students sat bored to death while we used our pink, blue and yellow highlighters to write a 5 line response showing our restatement, evidence from the text and personal opinion in a formulaic answer on a topic we cared nothing about so that we could bump up our test scores on EQAO, I have to say, HOORAY!!!!!!
Hello Heidi, I think that's a valuable, comprehensive list you've compiled, to which I would also add:
ReplyDelete- to honour (Canadian spelling!) their natural (multiple) intelligences and encourage their natural learning proclivities, reflecting the power of "enthusiasm-based learning",
- to infuse my approach to dealing with learners and their families with the most recent insights from Neurobiology, Positive Psychology, Holistic Learning and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
I think these points help identify a suite of learning strategies which are hallmarks of a new learning paradigm that engage reasonably well with emerging technologies and reach beyond the seduction of the latest and greatest digital "doughnuts."
cheers, Michael Maser
SelfDesign Learning
www.selfdesign.org
(based in BC Canada, and expanding ...)
Great points!
ReplyDeleteI'm sharing your post in some new teacher training sessions Heidi. Hope they feel comfortable enough to comment on it!
ReplyDeleteHi David,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found this post useful and worth sharing. I look forward to comments from your new teacher candidates.
I really like that second last point, because teachers are so important outside of the classroom too!! I think I'm drawn to teaching largely because of that non-classroom aspect.
ReplyDelete(My job is still to call home when the work is not being done, to identify students who are struggling and provide them with support and to collect money for field trips and pizza days")
What an exciting time to teach! I retired after 33 years of teaching, now teaching teachers tech. integration, but now I think I'm ready to start over. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Congratulations on your retirement and yes, this is an extremely exciting time to be a teacher. Starting over? Not a bad idea. :)