What it all means

This book has brought to life many topics and ideas of how and why the educational system should begin to change.  Chapter ten sums this up fairly well and helped me determine my goals for my future classroom.  I think it will be important to incorporate technology because it is becoming a way of life.  When my students enter the work force, they will be asked to collaborate with many others across the globe.  They need practice in school of how to work with others and what it is like to have their work reviewed by many others, besides just the teacher.  This is where technology, such as weblogs, can make this a possibility.  Students will also have to learn how to be critical thinkers when assessing articles or information because anyone can publish their thoughts online.  Building off this, students will need to be taught how to interact by responding to and discussing their ideas.  This makes me wonder if we should be teaching students how to type at a much younger age such as when they are first learning to write.  One day the only think they may have to actually write is their signature and I feel that we should be stressing typing more than writing.  Another reason why I think technology is important is because it will motivate and engage the students more.  One strategy that I am surely going to use is primary sources or having guest speakers come in.  This will give the students the opportunity to realize that there are other resources available to find reliable information and begin to build a network.

                As a future teacher, I will follow the five C’s mentioned in the chapter.  These include being a connector, creator, collaborator, coach, and change agent.  The first three C’s I feel are necessary to carry out because that is what I’m expecting my students to learn and do.  If I can’t follow through with these three components then my students will feel the same worthlessness about them.  I have to show why they are so important.  The coaching component I feel is the most important and really pertains to what my job truly means.  The concept of a teacher isn’t what it used to be, in that, they provide information to students.  Now teachers are more of a middle man and have to, not only, teach students skills, but also teach them how to find resources to discover new and valid information.  We are they to motivate and demonstrate, but not to give answers or facts.  The last component, change agent is necessary because the world we live in is constantly changing and so is our educational system.  We need to be open to new ideas and strategies.  For example, I feel that although schools are big on testing to get money from the government, teachers need to stand up for their beliefs against this.  Testing students may show if they know the information, but does prove if they actually know how to apply it.  As technology is advancing, applying our knowledge is becoming more important than ever before.