I am usually a pretty mellow person, tend to look for the positive in everyone, and assume the best of intentions in people. But I had an interaction on the vendor floor at ISTE that got my hackles up and I just lost it. The vendor was explaining their new STEM curriculum where everything is laid out step by step, the teacher could just “point and click” it was “foolproof.” WHAT!?! Are you saying teachers are fools!

Teachers are learning specialists, content experts, have advanced degrees, know their students and you just wrote them out of the equation. Really! If all we needed was a point-and-click learning program then wow learning is happening everywhere and everyone is doing very well. Then what’s all this talk about learning loss I keep hearing about? Not to mention increased gaps in learning.

It’s like comparing a point-and-shoot camera to an SLR. You can get decent photos with a point and shoot, if you master the SLR you create something wonderful. Teachers are those expert photographers making tweaks and adjustments to bring out the best in their students.

Be careful of the language you use and don’t insult the people you are hoping to support.