21st Century School Teacher

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...

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