Teaching Today's Students for Tomorrow's World
in Yesterday's Classrooms...
"Live your life in Beta- take a chance, accept the unexpected, and learn from what happens". -Christine Lion-Bailey | Imagine sailing a boat, with no motor, across the Atlantic to get to England from New York....effective and efficient? Most certainly not. One could argue that there is still value in rowing a boat across the Atlantic, after all that is how Christopher Columbus and all his fellow explorers navigated the world. While this fact is true, in a world where effectiveness and efficiency is critical for survival, we would never encourage students to jump into a non-motorized water craft with us as we captain the ship across the Atlantic Ocean. Why, then, do we ask those same students to sit in an antiquated classroom, which was designed during the 19th century, and expect them to be effective and efficient? It is time to affix a motor to education and allow our students to drive their learning out over the sea of possibilities that represent their future. Teachers are no longer the captain of the classroom, but rather the compass that guides the students in the right direction, providing the tools needed along the way. |
Christine Lion-Bailey, Director of Technology & Innovation e. clionbailey@mpsdk8.org
Morris Plains School District, 500 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 t. @clionbailey