Five Years is a Long Time

Five years ago, I started my current teaching job.  We were starting up a Middle School program at a Quaker School which had historically been K-6.  It was an exciting time for many reasons, but mostly because of the technology we were getting.  Coming from public school, I was thrilled to be part of a 1:1 laptop program, use Quizelt, have a SmartBoard and be able to utilize email to communicate with students.

Today, all that fancy stuff seems pretty passe.  Now we have Chromebooks AND iPads, Google Classroom, Pear Deck, nearpod, and Genius Hour.

I am bad with imagining the future.  I can adapt to change quickly, but I have trouble predicting it.  But if you think about how much the landscape of school has changed in the last five years, the next five years seem filled with capabilities that I can't even imagine.

Still, there are some things I know we should move towards and somethings we should reconsider...

Ideas and methods we should reconsider:

• direct instruction
• traditional homework
• early start times for adolescents

Things we should be moving towards:

• game based learning
• student centered learning - what, where and how
• authentic collaboration for teachers and students
• student led seminars
• opportunities for connections between students and authors, scientists, historians, mathematicians and writers
• field experiences - going out into the real world to intern
• more effective differentiation for skill and interest
• cross-curricular learning

It is both exciting and overwhelming to ponder what schools will look like in five years.  But my very best hope is that they look markedly different from the way they look today.