cc licensed flickr photo shared by Mike Keran
A year ago, I remember reading about our educator friends who were struggling with school budget devastation. In order to reach a manageable budget number, positions were lost, class sizes grew, supplies were trimmed, books were not ordered and as far as technology was concerned, what happened?
Have we learned any lessons from these frugal times? What is essential in our schools? How are we doing things differently? Has technology allowed for transformational instruction to happen? Or are our schools the same ole, same ole and we are limping along with less and less?
Can we learn any lessons from the business arena, businesses that are also doing with less in order to remain a viable competitor in this global market?
It feels like our schools are building the walls again instead of flattening the walls. It seems that we are ignoring working models. At a time when we should be leveraging the wisdom of school leaders, educators, parents and communities, we are closing down the lines of communication.
We must teach literacy, numeracy, and in addition, in order to span the globe, we must teach our students how: to learn, to be a global citizen, to use proper Internet etiquette, to create and understand media literacy. We must be able to weave a story and promote new ideas. Where is this model going to come from, where will our students stand on the planet of learning if our walls are built back up again? What things are happening in your schools that you can recommend to others?
Cross-posted at http://www.cheryloakes.com
