Education

So, I've been a teacher of English for a decade now and I've seen some changes in that time.  I've worked in a small rural school in the middle of a wheat field (literally in the middle of the field), a medium sized school in a medium sized town, and a super big school in a major metropolitan area.  Now I'm taking a stab at working in another country for a while and see what I can learn there.

One of the things that I think teachers really need to pick up the pace on is integrating web technology and resources into classroom flow.  I don't mean that teachers need to do "units" on how to use the Internet.  Teachers need to use the Internet like the students do: without really thinking about it.

Students don't care if what they are reading is on a phone, an iPod, a lap top, a hard copy, or a Twitter feed.  All of these sources are valid to students, and teachers need to loose the attitude that some text types are "better" than others.

I believe that schools are going to become unrecognizable in next few years.  This will be one of the biggest changes to hit education since the concept of the public school took hold during the industrial revolution. 

I believe this change will be a move to skills based mastery learning and ability grouping, which means a move away from age based grouping and A-F letter grading.  A 60% D- will not be enough to advance a student to the next grade level or class.  Students will be asked to MASTER information and the bottom will become a 90% or better. 

This system will better prepare students for life situations.  When was the last time your boss put you on a team or assigned you to a project just because you were the same AGE as other people on the team?  When was the last time you chose a doctor with a 60% success rate when you had the option to choose one with a 90% success rate? 

The education system that currently operates in most of the world has nothing to do with how real life operates.  I see this changing soon, and as a teacher I know I need to prepare for this shift sooner rather than later.

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