Sunday, January 30, 2011

My Response to 21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education By 2020

I found some things about this article very hopeful, and some things very disturbing. We all know that school systems will change rapidly in the next 10 years, but I do feel that some things will remain the same, regardless of technology, especially in lower income districts and rural areas.

21 Things That Will Become Obsolete

1. Desks...Great! Get rid of them. I prefer tables for student learning anyway as it promotes better student interaction.
2. Language Labs...Hmmmmm???
3. Computers...I question the "handhelds for all" theory, as district funding may prevent this from happening.
4. Homework...Great! Less papers to grade, and less paper to waste!
5. Standardized Test...Wonderful. Too much emphasis is placed on these timed tests and the information isn't always a good representation of a child's learning.
6. Differentiated Instruction=Distinguished Teacher...This should already be obsolete, as all teacher's need to, and have needed to differentiate their teaching for years in order to meet the needs of the children in their classes.
7. Fear of Wikipedia...I'm still scared of giving kids too much freedom on the internet, but that's something I need to GET OVER!
8. Paperbacks...I hope not! I love my i-pad, but don't feel comfortable taking it into the bathtub, to the pool or beach. There is something about the feel and smell of a REAL book!!!
9. Attendance Offices...Oh Well!
10. Lockers...I don't see this ever happening in elementary school. Kids have lots of gear, especially in the winter, and need a place to store it. The smell of wet coats and boots is pretty gross, and I don't want it in my classroom.
11. IT Departments...they will look different, but will still be needed as teachers ARE NOT technicians!
12. Centralized Institutions...I see this as a greater opprotunity for the older students. K-6 kids will still need to attend daily, as parents will need that security. Daycare costs could also factor into this too.
13. Organization...I love this idea, as it's based more directly in teaching kids what they need to know, and allowing them to skip over what they already have learned. Differentiation at its best!
14. Education Classes...Demanding 21st century tech integration is a GREAT idea, but districts need to provide teachers with the opprotunity to learn the new techniques and then time to become comfortable with them.
15. Paid Professional Development...This happens, but not as often as it should.
16. Current Curricular Norms...Again, we seem to be coming back to differentiation. All kids need exposure, but not all kids need mastery.
17. Parent-Teacher Conferences...Even with advancing technology, I feel that the face-to-face parent/teacher conferences are a must, at least at the k-5 level.
18. Cafeteria Food...YEAH!!! Most of it is awful, even though nutrition guidelines have improved throughout the years, the taste of school food really hasn't! Have you tried the "sun-butter" sandwich???? It's gross!!!
19. Outsourced Webmastering...Kids definately are better at it than many adults, partially because they have grown up around it and partially because they have more time to do it!
20. High School Algebra...my son took it in 8th grade! Everything is going down a year. Pre-school is the new kindergarten, as if kids are not reading by the end of their kindergarten year, we are pushing them into specialized programs! The problem with this comes back to the old "Developmentally Appropriate Practice" theory!
21. Paper...I'd love to see us decrese paper consumption, but I don't see it decreasing by 90% in the next 10 years. I think it's a good goal to strive for, but I'm unsure how realistic it is.

1 comment:

  1. Did manage to ferret out the name and find you.
    Welcome to the wide world of blogging.
    DramaJim

    ReplyDelete