I believe the main purpose of education is to provide children with a safe and nurturing learning environment that allows them to prepare for the real world. The four main concepts that should be practiced throughout their educational experience are critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity. These are the four skills that are critical to being successful in today’s global society. The 21st century is no longer a place where children need to memorize facts and accumulate knowledge, thanks to technology. Instead, it is a place where children need to practice questioning, creatively seeking answers, and working with others. Honing these skills throughout their years of education will prepare them for being a contributing member of our global society.
3 Comments
Jana
8/31/2015 09:16:43 am
Well said. I completely agree! Your message really resonated with me and definitely addressed how we as leaders can take all that we have learned to help facilitate technology into our school districts master plan. We all see the writing on the wall that technology is here and we need to move our students into being not only comfortable but technologically literate to compete in the new evolving workplace. The problem we are encountering is that teacher playing it safe and unless they get a forceful nudge leaves our students in the dark. We see some of our students moving 2 steps forward and then 4 steps back as they move from teacher to teacher.
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Michael A. O'Hagan
9/5/2015 12:00:15 pm
Like Jana, I agree 100%. I haven't met a new teacher who graduates from college, enters their first classroom, and then decides to do a poor job. I wonder what happens to those starry eyed, energetic, and innovative new teachers in their first couple of years? Statistically, a majority of new teachers will quit and leave the education profession within the first 5 years. Why is this? I don't completely know. Having grown up in Cupertino, CA, I know that many new teachers who leave education wind up working in the Tech Industry, mainly Apple, Google and Pinterest. One of my friends who is currently with Apple said that it wasn't really the money, it was more of feeling like they are in control of their own life, and can be free to innovate. To piggy back off what Jana said, in order to keep these motivated and energetic teachers, we need to ensure that they have room to experinment, and the support system in place when they fail (no teacher has a perfect lesson plan). One other thought, I've read through many of our cohort mates belief statements, and can help thinking how powerful a school we could create if we all worked together. We need to make sure we bring our vision of education to our individual schools.
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Ian Pumpian
9/8/2015 10:22:04 am
Thank you for your thoughtful submission. I look forward to seeing your platform unfold over the next weeks. You couple the nuturing kids need in their lives now with the prepartory nature of what kids will need as adult citizens. Well done.
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Andrea JacobsFifth Grade Teacher Archives
October 2015
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