I have been trying to keep up on the happenings at NECC. There are so many sources of information. As I am reading the blogs, new post keep appearing  I could do this all day and night it seems. Two of the posts got my attention, Kevin Clark’s REMC Ramblings and Wesley Fryer’s Speed of Creativity. The general tone of these posts is that there are lots of tools, so now what do you do with them and what is the future role of teachers. I left a comment at REMC but started to get carried away. Below is the expended comment.

I believe the role of teachers must change and evolve. I see teachers in the future more like mentors and guides to the learning process. The state will always tell us what kids must know. But the teacher takes these goals, students’ interests, strengths, weaknesses and the real learning needs to be a contributing member of the global community and guides the student to meets these expectations. The teacher offers tools, opportunity, suggestions, encouragement and at times focus as the student works independently and collaboratively in creating an understanding of all that is for themselves. The student becomes part of the learning community and leaves their mark on the collective body of knowledge. The student learns that knowledge is an ever-growing web, and belongs to no one in particular, but that they can learn from and contribute to this body of knowledge.

Teachers must also learn that they are not the gatekeepers to knowledge, a role that has been engrained in our thinking for decades, that vision must change. Teachers need to realize that they are part of the learning community and they to must learn from and contribute to the global, growing body of knowledge. They need to share their experience and become a guide for others. As we move into this new ground teachers especially must share what is working with their students and what did not. This collaborative effort is what will effect change.

In this day of high stakes testing few teachers will leave the script, there is much fear of failure and reprimands. Yet if our kids are not making AYP then something is not working and we need to make a change. Teachers (like myself) are creatures of habit, schools victims of bureaucracy there for change happens slowly. My suggestion is to try out new tools and strategies one unit or lesson at a time. As teachers become more familiar with the skills and change in classroom structure, more lessons, activities will be transformed. And over time, hopefully not too long, the classroom experience will change and then later schools in general.