Final Essay

How do we inspire others to change? Should we? Does the way that we teach need changing? Are students the same or are they changing? What do we want for ourselves and our own children?

I think that to inspire people to change one must go through change themselves. It is hard to inspire change when one cannot understand and relate. I think that change can be good or bad, but when change is evolved through the process of education, it is almost always positive. I want to challenge the notion that a teacher serves to just provide information. Teachers have not lost their power to motivate and inspire. If teachers just stood in front of the class and read from the textbook, than students would have no need to go to class. To be an educator, means to inspire further learning, to challenge ideas and to motivate individuals. The teachers that I remember, and that I aspire to be are not the ones that taught me the most about the civil war or the periodic table, but the teachers who were able to provide me with the resources and tools to be self sufficient and independent. I think it is important to train students how to think, how to problem solve, how critically analyze and how to remain mentally agile, rather than teaching them what to know. Simply put: I want to learn how to become a teacher, rather than an informer.
I truly believe that with the technological advances, students are changing and so are teachers. We are forced to adapt to our surroundings and when we are surrounded by endless amounts of resources and technological tools, change is inevitable. When I talk to my parents about their school experience, it is very different from mine. They did not even have computers and in today’s classroom it is strange not to have one. With the presence of technology we are provided with so many more opportunities to integrate different activities and lesson plans into the curriculum. Teachers adapt their lesson plans to include technology because they allow for interactive and fun curriculum. Students have changed their ways of studying and can now use sites such as quizlet and text2mindmap to develop brainstorming and studying habits.
I want my children to be in a classroom where technology is used to enhance the curriculum; however, I also want my children to learn that there is a world outside of technology. I think that “real-life” skills can be developed through the use of technology but I truly believe that there are a lot of skills that cannot be taught through wikipedia or blogger. I think that in a perfect world there would be a balance. An equilibrium between technology and the classic classroom must be developed. I think that technology and the classic classroom setting are both great but as is true in all aspects of life; everything is good, in moderation. Technology is a great and beneficial tool for the classroom that helps and promotes interaction but this tool is only good when used effectively and does not take over the classroom and the student’s lives. Like so many other professions, teaching faces the threat of being replaced by a search bar in a web browser, but not if we can work with the technology to form a better and stronger learning experience.