21st Century School Teacher

Our website is up and our blogs are ready to go...   It's time to 'shut up and put up,' as they say... I've been avoiding (just a little) actually getting started on this post.  After spending a few days taking a peek at other educational bloggers, I wondered if my blog would be interesting enough, thought-provoking enough, so that I could engage others in a dialogue about best practice...  I've read several current articles, learned about new gizmos and gadgets, reflected on summer conferences, read cute stories about blogger's kids.. and the list goes on... What will make my blog any different?  Unfortunately, I didn't come up with an answer, but I can't put it off any more.  Even if my blog may sound like that broken record, it is my voice and my instrument to document my own evolution as a teacher in the 21st century...  (See Will R.'s extensive list of bloggers if you're up for some introspection, reflection, or just educational entertainment...)

Donna and I have been talking about blogging for years; the stars have aligned, and we both have committed to this journey.  What strikes me as interesting and worthy of talking about today is how we are changing as educators, reflecting the technological revolution that we are a part of...  Many of our educational practices remain the same--but our approach, how we get ready for the classroom each day is definitely changing. 

When I first began teaching, I was capable of planning several weeks in advance--the process and delivery in which I would bring my curriculum to the classroom was predictable.  What's changed?  Instead of spending hours searching for just the right lesson or hook, or reading books about teaching writing and reading, now I spend hours looking for that new trend that will resonate with students and help me engage them in a successful learning task; I'm developing new strategies, increasing shared inquiry, and applying new technologies to teach the essential content.   My focus as a teacher is shifting, too.  It used to seem that teachers developed their own bag of tricks and tools for the classroom, and their magic was a secret.  Now teachers need each other; collaboration to meet the many evolving demands of the classroom predicts success.  There is so much available to us, we can't  possibly know it all or do it all alone.  We must have a network of colleagues and websites in our bag, to call on to keep our practice current and relevant to kids. 

My world has been struck most forcefully by the kids that come into the classroom that hate school... They show up, but even the kids that you used to be able to count on to sit on your every word, listening for the next golden nugget to fall out of your mouth so that they could grab it up and use it--well even these kids shun our antiquated teaching practices.  They still appear to be engaged, and they are learning, but they are also mad.  Mad at the system that is falling behind.  These kids are tired of memorizing and spitting it back on multiple choice tests, and they are hungry for the task that will require critical thinking, collaborating, criticizing, storytelling, authoring--creating!  They have been tested to death--they are ready to demonstrate their learning, but they want to do it in a way that mirrors the world that they are living in outside of school. 

How do we meet the demands of our new learners?  We have to become learners of the 21st century ourselves.  We must move from the bringers-of-content to explorers on great journeys... We can still be the captain, but the way that we bring content to the classroom needs to change.  Last year I had a student ask me, "Hey, Mrs. W, when are we going to start using the textbook more?"  The question made me really ask myself--should I be spending more time in the textbook laboring over facts and highlighted vocabulary? "Why is it that the text book is important for you?" I asked the student.  She reflected on my question and didn't have an answer--because it's there, I suspect...  Textbooks are great as a resource, but if that is your curriculum, you are not harnessing the many avenues in which to bring content to children in a multi-linear way... 

I won't continue this rant, but will end with the question that is on my mind: how are you changing as a teacher to meet the needs of the 21st century learners in your classroom?  Please share your ideas and practices so that we can all glean a new idea or approach to try out in our own classrooms...

Happy Monday!

We've only just begun to put together resources on our site that we think you will find interesting and useful...  Already we have several cool websites and news articles linked for your convenience,  as well as a few other goodies.  Take a look around... We will continue to  post new information as we create it or discover it--bookmark us and come back soon!  If you have any great ideas or websites that you think we should add, just leave a comment, and we'll do our best to include it on our site... Thanks :)  Nicole

What does it mean to be a teacher in the 21st century? or a learner?  My decade of experience in the classroom has brought me to reflect heavily on the changes that the 21st century demands of me, my colleagues, and the educational system as a whole.  I clearly remember what it was like for me to be in the classroom in the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s.  I experienced part of the whole language movement as a child, white-out and type-written essays as a teenager, DOS as a college student, and  the power  of the  world-wide-web as an adult .  The changes that have taken place over the past 35 years since I first began school are  astounding, and I believe that the changes that will take place over the next 10 years will shadow my experiences in educational change thus far.  As our world becomes smaller, our responsibilities as educators are growing.  Not only are we responsible for the whole learner, but we have a responsibility to our society--to ensure that our future will remain competitive in this global world in which we live. 

So why create this blog?  I have recently made a significant change in my life.  Because my husband was unexpectedly transfered, I left my teaching position that I held for the past 9 years.  I was fortunate to work with amazingly bright kids in the 7th and 8th grade where I learned the magic of the adolescent years...  Now I am left with time enough time on my hands that I can ask questions and reflect on where it is I want to go next as a teacher in a new city and state.  I have so many questions about my practice, so it seems natural to ask other educators what it is they know about teaching and about learners in our world--today...

At this time I am most intrigued with the idea that as we incorporate new literacies into our instruction, we need to change our old ideas about assessment to meet the needs that the 21st century demands.  Additionally, on our home page we have linked to a blog that talks about what it means to be a 21st century educator... I find this fascinating! I want to get in on the discussion of curriculum design and how our incremental changes in the classroom will effect changes on a larger scale--at the state and national levels...