Redefining Teachers with a 21st Century Education 'Story' by: Thom Markham
Last Thursday, I over heard one of the teachers say, "this is a good time to retire." I inquired why, being a "student teacher" and very interested in job prospects, and he replied, that "this will be the third time in my career that I had to change the way I teach",referencing the new inquiry, student centered style of learning. He also went on to say, "but it is a great time to get into teaching, because you don't know anything else."
It is true, the cycle between how we teach just goes back and forth, and nothing really changes. School today is just going through another transition, reverting back to an old style, revamped to sound new. And if trends stay the same, 10-20 years later, we will be back to standards and tests. History just repeating itself.
In this article, the author takes the time to jump into how, we as teachers, should change our curriculum. Not to meet the requirements of today's standards or common core, but to meet the requirements of today's needs. We need to teach students that learning is not confined to the classroom or to learn a specific topic, (but I hope my students will get some information they can use in college out of my class) but to be able to solve problems they encounter, to be able to think critically and form a logical answer to solve anything they come across. It is our job as teachers to prepare the students to be this kind of thinkers. We don't know what the future holds, what kinds of jobs will be created, or what kinds of need the future population will require. All we can do is prepare our students to meet this unknown demand the best we can. Hopefully, the students will build the skills they will need to overcome any problems that might occur in the future.
It is true, the cycle between how we teach just goes back and forth, and nothing really changes. School today is just going through another transition, reverting back to an old style, revamped to sound new. And if trends stay the same, 10-20 years later, we will be back to standards and tests. History just repeating itself.
In this article, the author takes the time to jump into how, we as teachers, should change our curriculum. Not to meet the requirements of today's standards or common core, but to meet the requirements of today's needs. We need to teach students that learning is not confined to the classroom or to learn a specific topic, (but I hope my students will get some information they can use in college out of my class) but to be able to solve problems they encounter, to be able to think critically and form a logical answer to solve anything they come across. It is our job as teachers to prepare the students to be this kind of thinkers. We don't know what the future holds, what kinds of jobs will be created, or what kinds of need the future population will require. All we can do is prepare our students to meet this unknown demand the best we can. Hopefully, the students will build the skills they will need to overcome any problems that might occur in the future.