After reading Will Richardson's essay 16 Modern Realities Schools (and Parents) Need to Accept. Now. taken from his Twitter post, about the growing change movement in education. Do you agree or disagree with his thoughts on change? Be specific in your response and state the reasons for your opinion.
13 comments:
With the information provided from this article, I would have to say that I most certainly agree with the authors sentiments. Most specifically in referencing students and their relationship with the curriculum. With the way education is diversifying in terms of activities and strategies used in the classroom, especially with technology, I agreed with the belief that students now at this stage create their own curriculum and that in the simplest terms create their own knowledge.
I also agreed with the belief that formative testing is inadequate in the sense that teachers should be shifting gears towards testing students on the skills they have obtained and fostered throughout the course of their work. The combines with one of the other modern realities developed in this reading, discussing the idea that high stakes learning is now and moved towards doing real work and analyzing, which is a shift from standardized test. With all these combined sentiments, I agree in detail with the author in this article. Our roles as teachers is changing to facilitators in that there is no longer a "middle man" in the classroom. Our focus is the shift the understanding of curriculum from the students to the development of analytical skills and critical thinking ability as this is how education has progressed.
This article brought up a number of interesting points. First, the idea that since we live in a society of global significance where connections are made all over the world, adapting and responding to consistent change is very much a skill for the modern world. As the article continually notes, almost all roles are changing and a teacher is no different. A shift to a teacher as a facilitator of knowledge and curriculum has impacts not only for the teachers themselves but for students as well. Content is more often found online and a student or childs' "online personality", or the image that they present online for others to see, if of considerable concern as it's out there for the rest of the world to observe. The idea that employment will find the worker is an intriguing concept that can already sort of be seen. If a person is registered with an online employment database, they can sign up to be notified when an opening in their field comes available in a location that is close to them. The point that most resonated with me as a teacher is the statement that modern day testing is a rather blunt instrument in terms of its ability measure a students prowess for critical thinking and analyzing skills. The article and the author present a number of interesting points that relate to teachers in a modern and increasingly technologically based society.
Will Richardson’s essay, “16 Modern Realities School (and Parents) Need to Accept. Now.” Discusses many key topics that are discussed in the education world. Looking over the sixteen points mentioned in the article, many of the statements made me think and agree with what Richardson was saying. I agree that with the vase number of varying students and their unique needs and technology being added in the classroom, change is necessary for students to be successful. One point that I agree d with was when Richardson said that although the 4 c’s are important, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication they are no longer enough. Instead we must also add being able to connect to other learners worldwide and to use computing applications to solve problems. I think this is true because in today’s world there is such an emphasize on technology and is not just enough to be able to go on the computer but rather use the computer to connect to with others as well as critically solve problems. I also agree that current testing regimes are inadequately measuring students. For example, students are not asked to be creative or think critically when answering a question on a test, they are either right or wrong. Tests also do not allow for collaboration, which in today’s society is very important. One of the other statements that left me thinking was that workers in the future will not “find employment;” Employment will find them. Or they will create their own. I thought this was interesting because in today’s world, to find employment most people just post their resume and wait for someone to call. This was the case for my own teaching position, so it makes sense when Richardson says that and when he states that students will create their own jobs. Today, there is nothing stopping students from creating their own businesses and finding success in their own work. Learning more about that, I found an article speaking about a college student who recently quit NYC to run his own app company. Instead of waiting to find a job and be a college graduate, he created his own business dong what he loves. Overall, as the world and students change, teachers need to change. We need to learn how to become adaptable and modify our lessons so that we are creating the best learning environment as possible with the best tools as possible.
In response to Joe:
I agree that the author discusses a number of interesting points that can relate to teaching in modern, technology based society. As teachers as need to constantly be learning and adapting so that we are able to fit the needs of our students.
I enjoyed reading this article because Will Richardson was realistic in the changes that has been happening in our education system. That being said, I strongly agree aith the authors point of view on change, I agree that the transformation of technology and the web is quickly taking over and changing the way we think and how we learn certain things. An interesting point that Richardson made that I didn't really think of was, "the middleman is vanishing as peer to peer interactions flourish. Teachers no longer stand between the content and the student. This will change the nature of the profession." This was a bold statement to make but I agree that it's very true. Teaching has changed tremendously over the years and it will continue to change, especially with technology taking over. Another point that a strongly agree with and that I always agreed with is the testing and assessment techniques. Richardson states, "current testing regimes are inadequate in measuring a student’s ability to find and solve problems, think critically and creatively, deal well with failure, persevere, collaborate with others, etc, skills that are arguably more important than content knowledge." In my opinion skills are more important than some content knowledge because I feel that those skills will get you further in life than learning about content knowledge that you may not necessarily need to get through life. Overall this was an extremely interesting article to read and relate to.
One of education’s greatest challenges is breaking the mold of traditional schooling. Although pockets of change do exist, doing school different is still far from mainstream. Equity (gender, racial, ethnic, economic, education, geo/political) will be a major driver of change, despite resistance from the status quo. More voices are needed and as a teacher, we need to advocate for these kids. We also need to keep in mind that as the number of ELL students and students living in poverty increase, they might not all be fortunate enough to have access to technology. It saddens me knowing students rely so much on devices to think for them than them having to think for themselves. They constantly need to connect to technology in order for them to feel stimulated and engaged in a lesson.
Although I understand, us teachers need to keep up with the modern world and be flexible when it comes to being open minded and technology, but I still feel that the value in content without technology is decreasing. Teachers need to always be ready for the worse case scenario if there is no electricity one day, how will they keep their students engaged without technology?
I agree that the world is changing and the education system should change with the times. I believe Richardson presents valid points in his article but it is slightly concerning about my future as an educator. Richardson states that "Teachers no longer stand between the content and the student". Isn't this point a little concerning to future educators? We are investing time,energy, and money in a masters degree for a profession that might become irrelevant in the future. After having this initial concern, I continued to read the article and many of my peers comments. Technology, although vital tool in the modern world, should not replace many past practices. Encouraging students to utilize technology is important but students should not become reliant on it. Richardson did confuse me about a point in his article stating that "Technology is no longer an option when it comes to learning at mastery levels". Can anyone elaborate on that statement? Although I find myself torn on my position with Richardson, I believe this was an interesting article that helps educators, parents, and policy makers become more mindful in transforming the education system.
I agree that world is always changing and people, society, and even school are going to change in time with it. However, I agreed greatly with Gabrielle and Victoria. What Gabrielle said about not every child will have access to technology, especially the author of the article is very heavy and strong on the idea of technology. It's not just the students that have to engage in technology, but the teacher as well, which has led to the "middle man" vanishing. I liked her overall concept of worse case scenario, without technology, what happens to the schools. And with Victoria, I did not understand the one point "technology is no longer an option when it comes to learning at mastery levels." It's true but scary when Richardson states that we, students right now, are going the "traditional pathways," only to wait for jobs that are not available and not be able to get a job at all, or getting a job that doesn't amount to the amount of education we paid for, and are left in debt for the rest of our lives. So like Victoria said, is the role of the teacher becoming irrelevant for the future, and we're investing (wasting) the time, energy, and money in school for a job that may not be there twenty, thirty, forty years from now? It's scary to think about, and it made me think, if the teachers become irrelevant, what happens to the students? They rely on the internet and web only? Lastly, the one thing i agree with Richardson about is that "high stakes" learning is more important, than taking standardized tests. And the fact that the 3 C's aren't enough, that creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication aren't enough. Students need to be able to connect with other learners elsewhere. I believe this article can lead to many opinions. But it is about what is best for the school system as times change, the progression of the curriculum as times change, and what is best for the students overall.
Will Richardson’s article 16 Modern Realities Schools (and parents) need to accept. Now. is full of information that has forced me to really think about the current state of the education system. Do we need change? Of course we do. Everything, especially education, needs to change over time. We cannot stick to the same script year after year when it comes to educating the youth. Are we doing enough? I’m not sure. Technology is obviously an essential to people and even more so for the next generation. When observing in various classrooms I am able to see use of technology in many different ways. One classroom I observed used Chromebooks, SMART board, google docs and various other apps extensively. The use of technology is something I never seen and I graduated not too long ago from High School. I’m able to see first hand the changes we made in this area. I agree with Richardson that students have access to so much more information but I feel they are only willing to learn about it if they are interested in it or are introduced to it by someone else, usually a teacher. I agree with Richardson’s thoughts on how we must prepare our students for life after elementary and high school. I feel that some teachers are addressing the needs or their students in different ways. Some teachers understand the need to grow a student as a person, while other teach for the test. We must make changes in the education system to adapt to our ever changing world. I do not believe these changes will happen over night. I wish Richardson offered more solutions than problems.
reply to Victoria;
I agree with what you had said about the future of the teacher. I do not agree with Richardson saying that teachers are no longer stand between the content and the student. Also when Richardson said “Technology is no longer an option when it comes to learning at mastery levels.” I believe he is trying to say how important technology is. We can’t have it just as an option but as a necessity for students to learn at the highest levels.
I believe that change is a necessity when it comes to our education systems. We need to constantly adapt instruction and ways of teaching to better address our students and prepare them for the "real" world. Technology is essential for our students to learn how to use. Our modern day world is ruled by technology and it is our job as educators to help them be prepared for jobs and living in the world outside the classroom. I believe that the way to do this is to properly educate our teachers on how to use technology and ways that we can bring it into the classroom. If teachers are not familiar and trained in the technologies than they are going to be more reluctant bringing it into the classroom. Doing this will help our schools adjust to the new world of technology in an easy manner.
I agree with this essay to some degree. I believe that Millennials are extremely creative in the way they will make a living and I think that technology has a big role in this. The internet gives people an abundance of information and people are realizing that they can break down the walls of the traditional workforce box. However, I don’t necessarily agree with Richardson’s statement that, “The middleman is vanishing as peer to peer interactions flourish. Teachers no longer stand between the content and the student. This will change the nature of the profession.” I am a firm believer that no matter how technology evolves, the place and role of the teacher should remain intact. Technology should be used to assist teaching methods. Not every learner is the same. There are some students who will be able to take technology and information they find on their own and run with it, but most students need structure and lesson plans that are centered around the instruction from the teacher. I believe that taking this away from students would be a tremendous disservice. I hope that as technology evolves, because it will continue to change every few years, that the teacher-student relationship doesn’t diminish. I agree with Richardson’s statement that, “Workers in the future will not ‘find employment;’ Employment will find them. Or they will create their own.” This is an exciting idea and I truly believe it. Technology is providing people with so many opportunity because it is opening their minds to so many new ideas. People are realizing that they can make their dreams a reality because they have used technology in schools to open their minds and increase their creativity. Technology is providing people with the opportunity to capitalize on their creativity.
In response to Lauren: I agree with Lauren. We can not just accept the way we do things in the classroom and never make changes because that would be denying the reality that the world is extremely different than it was even ten years ago. As technology evolves, we must evolve in our schools and the way we teach lessons.
I believe that change in education is great because it allows growth not only for the teachers but students as well. The question if society is changing as fast as it needs to for children's education or are we right on track comes into play. They mention that degrees are becoming non existent and that the amount of education given to students are a waste in a sense because they aren't using it in their fields. This articles stresses that there is lack of connection with education to the real world and it is doing more harm than good for children. We should allow students to move at a steady pace in which they are able to understand fully what it is their learning. The point of technology dumbing down our children makes some sense at the same time as well because it is forming their brains to only fully engage in technology and everything else becomes non-existent like books or hard cover novels, which in all actuality practices memorization etc. I would embrace technology in my classroom but I would not have them dependent on it.
Will Richardson’s essay “16 Modern Realities Schools (and Parents) Need to Accept. Now.” discusses the many thoughts he has on educational change. Personally, I do not fully agree or disagree with the entirety of his thoughts, but rather have opinions toward some of them individually. One thought I agree with is when Will Richardson stated “The Web and the technologies that drive it are fundamentally changing the way we think about how we can learn and become educated in a globally networked and connected world. It has absolutely exploded our ability to learn on our own in ways that schools weren't built for.” I agree with this statement because it is undeniable that technology is one of the largest transitions that school and education has encountered, especially with this specific day in age. In my opinion, technology does not replace any sort of instruction, but rather enhances and expands how students can learn and how teachers can teach. Today, we do live in a “globally networked and connected world,” which fully transforms where education is today. On the other hand, the one thought that I disagree with is when Will Richardson stated “The middleman is vanishing as peer to peer interactions flourish. Teachers no longer stand between the content and the student. This will change the nature of the profession,” to an extent. I disagree with this statement to an extent, because as an educator, I would like to always believe that a teacher will still be between students and the content and knowledge they obtain in school. I do agree with the fact that this can “change the nature of the profession,” but I do not believe students will no longer be in need of their teachers. There are many factors involved in how students learn in school, as well as how teachers teach, however I believe these factors, such as technology, will enhance and expand student’s learning experience, rather than replace a teacher’s role in the classroom.
In response to Alyssa: I agree that teacher’s roles in the classroom should stay intact, regardless of the transformation of technology within education. Also, that technology should be used to assist teaching methods, rather than replace.
After reading Will Richardson's article titled, "16 modern realities schools (and parents) need to accept now", I have to agree with some of his opinions. I do believe that change within education is extremely important and we as educators need to understand and accept change in order to value our system today, but at the same time, Richardson makes some points that I do not agree with. Specifically, he states that, "The middleman is vanishing as peer to peer interactions flourish. Teachers no longer stand between the content and the student. This will change the nature of the profession". I do not agree with this statement because in fact, I do believe that teachers are still extremely valuable to a students education. Yes times are changing and students are now able to expand on their knowledge through active and adaptive learning, but the root of the learning still comes from the teachers, whom help the students grow and achieve within their own classroom. I do agree that technology is constantly changing and it is extremely beneficial for the students to expand their knowledge, but teachers still need to understand the technology and use it in their own way to apply the standard knowledge. The article also touches upon the disconnect between education and the real world. I have say that today, I believe and observe that education and the real world are coming together as one, as students learn through experiences and the outside world today. I do agree that there needs to be more of a connection due to the common core which limits our ability to explore beyond the classroom, but I do not think that there is a big disconnect between the two. The points that Richardson brought up were very interesting and I do agree that change is happening and we need to keep up with change in order to make our classrooms work, but teachers are still key to delivering education which I think is still very valued in our education system today.
In response to Whitney I agree with you when you say that change is great for education because it allows growth. I think the best way to teach young learners is by changing up how you teach, in order for students to apply their knowledge in their own way. This exploration of knowledge will stick with them rather then become boring and forgetful when asked to read and memorize topics within certain subjects. I also agree when you say that we need to allow students to learn at a steady pace, making sure they fully understand what they are learning. This contributes to the change and the need for teachers to be involved in order to clear up the confusion and keep the students on track. Working together as a team will create a positive and engaging classroom where students can learn in various ways that expand their opportunity to flourish within the class.
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