In many ways,\u00a0the reading of this article had me thinking that I am so glad that I don’t live in the United States.\u00a0 While we fight over FSA’s and the Fraser Institute rankings here in BC, neither are tied to whether I have a job next year or not.\u00a0 Partly because of this, I feel more freedom to\u00a0 experiment and get closer to the new vision of schools.\u00a0 What is this new vision,\u00a0well, I don’t really know.\u00a0 I suppose everyone’s vision is a little bit different.<\/p>\n
In my school district, a big portion of the budget has gone to supporting collaboration among staff.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each school had a core team (including extra staffing) to design ways of collaboration in the classroom.\u00a0 It was very interesting to go to the district meetings and listen many ways that\u00a0 schools are using this resource.\u00a0 I find it ironic that, while we expect collaboration among our students, there is very little modelling of this practice for our students.\u00a0 I do think that the way of the future is more in collaboration than isolation and that the article is correct in questioning the skills we are teaching our students.\u00a0 Is it more important to teach dates and places or to teach students how to learn and how to expand their knowledge base in a collaborative setting?\u00a0 I don’t think that there is one broad stroke that will be the “right” way to do things but I think that the important thing is to be open to different ways of doing things and to not be stagnant in ideas or practice.<\/p>\n
Technology is another issue that we have been working with.\u00a0 In the article, it speaks of schools who do not allow personal devices in the classroom.\u00a0\u00a0This is a tricky issue for me as I work in a school with many underprivileged students and I wonder how to get around the stigma of not being able to afford the “latest and greatest” when students are expected to bring their own devices.\u00a0 Not only\u00a0are finances an issue but parents also become an issue in what they allow their children to participate in online.\u00a0 Some parents may not want their students to follow my twitter account, for example, and isn’t it their right to say no?\u00a0 But are they really making educated decisions when, often, it come to technology that they themselves don’t understand?<\/p>\n
The School Library Monthly blog posted on\u00a0May 10th\u00a0raises an interesting point that ties both collaboration and technology together.\u00a0 Alyssa Johnson states that “\u201cSchool librarians, however, should be careful not to inundate first-year teachers with too many resources or too many tools. Instead, they should pick a couple of favorite examples and introduce more as teachers settle in.\u201d\u00a0 I think that this sentiment can, and should, be applied not only to new teachers but all teachers, parents and students.\u00a0 It is important\u00a0to begin small, let people get used to a new way of doing things and then progress on from there.\u00a0\u00a0It is not about\u00a0mastering it all now, but growing slowly over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In many ways,\u00a0the reading of this article had me thinking that I am so glad that I don’t live in the United States.\u00a0 While we fight over FSA’s and the Fraser Institute rankings here in BC, neither are tied to … Continue reading