While some elements of school have changed, a number of them have stayed the same. This needs to change! The yearning for change in the educational community is a running theme throughout my first few weeks of readings and videos for my Masters Program (Educational Leadership, Emphasis in Technology through SDSU/SDCOE). In most areas of my life, I would usually say “hooray” for these things that remain the same and unchanged. However, as an educator, I enjoy the changes that come with varying lessons and constantly reflecting on my experiences. I think this is why I resonate so much with the need for change with how “school” educates students.
Listening to Sir Ken Robinson's talk, "Changing Education Paradigms," while watching it brilliantly animated by RSA Animate, continues to cultivate my understanding and desire to see educational change happen on a worldwide scale. Children today are definitely overstimulated with so much information all the time. It is difficult for them to focus in on one subject, one topic, and one question at a time. So, does their learning need to happen in a content box? In other words, do they need to learn one subject isolated from another? They can learn to read, enjoy, and sort information on intermingling subjects. In fact, our students yearn to connect the information that they learn about historical issues with the current events of today. They are willing and able to solve problems that don’t simply have one answer. In order to do this, they need some background skills in how to read, write, gather and sort information, and make sense of what they are learning about. They also need educators that are willing to collaborate among each other to make this happen. Teachers, students, and families should constantly be interacting with each other.
As educational leaders, we must demonstrate this collaborative effort and frequently encourage it. We need all teachers, students, and families to understand this. I agree with Sir Kevin Robinson's words "Collaboration is the stuff of growth” and we need to change the “culture of our institutions.”
Listening to Sir Ken Robinson's talk, "Changing Education Paradigms," while watching it brilliantly animated by RSA Animate, continues to cultivate my understanding and desire to see educational change happen on a worldwide scale. Children today are definitely overstimulated with so much information all the time. It is difficult for them to focus in on one subject, one topic, and one question at a time. So, does their learning need to happen in a content box? In other words, do they need to learn one subject isolated from another? They can learn to read, enjoy, and sort information on intermingling subjects. In fact, our students yearn to connect the information that they learn about historical issues with the current events of today. They are willing and able to solve problems that don’t simply have one answer. In order to do this, they need some background skills in how to read, write, gather and sort information, and make sense of what they are learning about. They also need educators that are willing to collaborate among each other to make this happen. Teachers, students, and families should constantly be interacting with each other.
As educational leaders, we must demonstrate this collaborative effort and frequently encourage it. We need all teachers, students, and families to understand this. I agree with Sir Kevin Robinson's words "Collaboration is the stuff of growth” and we need to change the “culture of our institutions.”