Unfortunately, most schools in America are taking this same tack, and it’s a consequence of how we measure technology in schools. States measure solely by computer-to-student ratios, speeds, and feeds. Schools compare themselves with each other based on the same numbers. It’s “he who has the most toys wins”, with little consideration for how the technology is used. Schools then “fit technology in” to their practice by treating it as a subject and by using it to reinforce existing practices (ie delivery), rather than as a learning and creativity tool. It’s technology for technology’s sake, and little else.

What will it take to change all this? Parents and PTAs standing up and saying, “this isn’t good enough” at back to school night. Communities need to pay attention to board meetings, find out what their schools are spending technology dollars on, get involved in planning (and hiring) committees, and take an active role in decisions moving forward. How much staff development could have been paid for with those Smartboard dollars? Or, how many EeePCs could have been purchased? Did anyone ask that question? It’s unlikely that anyone at the school will, so it’s up to us to ask these questions and drive the changes our students need to succeed in the 21st century.

This blog is truly inspirational and I will use it as an example at an upcoming conference in my country, South Africa.

Thank you for taking the time to share it all with us!

I was quoting the teacher with reference to the reading requirement.

I do think, however, it is very important that learners of all ages read nonfiction texts in addition to fictional texts. Sometimes I think we under-emphasize the value and importance of reading nonfiction texts for pleasure. Blogging can provide good opportunities to read nonfiction texts and reflect on those texts. I don’t have the research on this to cite at my fingertips, but I have heard some interesting statistics on this in the past in terms of how much of the reading graduates are expected to do following graduation is non-fiction.

I also think it is important to emphasize the ideas we are reading about and not just focus on logging time. The reason our district has a 20 minute per night reading requirement is to encourage reading at home, and that is of course a laudable goal. That requirement is an instrumental goal rather than one with intrinsic value. I don’t want my own children simply excited that they have read for 20 minutes and “checked off that box” in terms of a required assignment. Alfie Kohn discusses this in his book “The Myth of Homework.” All too often, students as well as adults view homework as just something to get finished / completed rather than something which has intrinsic value and leads to conversations and discussions about ideas. I want my kids to comprehend what they read and engage in deep discussions about the ideas, characters, stories, conflicts, issues, etc they are reading about.

Similar to testing, I think it is all about how the requirement is handled and emphasized. Yes, we have to take tests. But the overall purpose of us being at school should not be seen or communicated to others (students, parents, or anyone) as being simple test-takers. That should not define us. Similarly when it comes to reading, the reason we emphasize reading is not so we can fill our reading logs with statistical numbers. We have reading logs to hopefully encourage a love of reading. As long as my kids are reading books they enjoy and loving reading, I am not really that concerned with their reading logs. We had this discussion this past week. Just as we follow other laws and rules in our community, we are going to log our minutes in their reading folders. We are going to keep talking about the ideas we are reading about, however, because the ideas as well as the love of reading are the most important things.

We want to avoid (if possible) the tail wagging the dog when it comes to logging reading minutes. That is sometimes a challenge.

Thank you for doing this. In the best of all possible worlds it will inspire change, but even if that doesn’t happen, at least there will be discussion.

Just curious, are you emailing this to your School Board and School Superintendent?

One other perspective to consider, though. As you st in the audience getting frustrated with the type of educational experience your children were going to have, how many of the parents had a very different view? How many parents were thrilled with the emphasis on kids being given regular homework in math, being expected to read cursive, and having the same type of textbooks that they had when they were in school? One of the biggest challenges we face as educational administrators attempting to promote new types of teaching and learning in our schools is realizing that not only to we have to educate and push our teachers, fellow administrators, and school boards, but we also have to educate and push the parents of all of our students who have very different expectations and visions of what school should look like. I cannot tell you how many calls I get from parents who want the textbook, the homework, the workbooks, etc so they can “help” their kids or who tell me that they are “teaching” their kids the way they know is best when they come home. I know we have to do better in educating all of our stakeholders, but is quite a task! On a positive note - I just had a conversation with a group of teachers about how we can more efficiently demonstrate to all the students and other 8th grade teachers how to use various tools, applications, etc that we want to incorporate in the teaching & learning (i.e. blogs, wikis, Google docs, etc). One of the teachers mentioned that he thought we should also do a session for the parents . . . he said he would be willing to be part of an evening session to do that. Creating a critical mass - that is what we need to do!

Taking what we have, knowing we will not get any thing more, knowing the restrictions will only get tighter. Let us come up with a plan. Let us develop something new. Let us get the stakeholders to buy into the change. Let us do this thing. No one else is going to do it.
I have 2:45 to 3:10 open most every day, let me know what I can do to help.

Susan: I think you are right about most school websites being stuck in “web 1.0 mode, and fear over lack of control as well as liability are driving this. One thing that many Oklahoma educators don’t realize and take advantage of as a district is that ONEnet now provides free CPanel access for its customers. This opens the door to Moodle, Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, and many other open source tools that can be readily installed and used. James Deaton discussed this at the 2007 MoodleMoot in Altus at WOSC. Of course school district leaders need to understand the benefits of using these types of empowering web-publishing environments, and actually WANT them implemented by their administrative staffs. I hope we’ll see some progress made on this in the next few years. It is GREAT ONEnet is providing that service, it’s just too bad so few districts (out of over 500 in the state) are taking advantage of the offer.

In terms of the middle school our son will attend next year, it’s fair to say that is up in the air. I want to arrange a visit soon to Classen SAS downtown in the next month or two. I’d love our kids to attend an A+ School. Their philosophy for learning is right on target, not necessarily with technology but definitely in terms of engagement, hands-on learning, inquiry-based approaches, multiple learning styles, etc. It will be interesting to see what doors open for us down the road, esp as we look at middle schools. We are still renting our house here, so we could move if that is needed. We do love Edmond, our neighbors, our church, and many other things about our community, so I’m not saying we are moving for sure, but lots of cards are on the table and we could certainly relocate to another spot in the metro area if that’s the best decision for our family– particularly as it concerns education. There’s a lot of factors that go into where you live of course, and it’s not just “all” about the school. I plan to visit and thoroughly check out Cimarron as well too.

I think you wrote me an email recently about geocaching in Edmond that I never responded to… I am going to catch up on email this weekend and will try and reply to that! I did see it but didn’t reply at the time…

Josh: I’m flattered you’ve forwarded this on to your teachers. I look forward to visiting with you. My contact info including my phone is on http://www.wesfryer.com/contact.

I just required all my teachers to read your post… How do we get our schools past this kind of stuff? I am the admin at a small (for now) private, Christian school in OKC… I want to get this fixed for our students… the ideas you share, and those of your fellow twitterers (Someone call Webster, I just coined a word) are EXACTLY the model of education I want to see in our school. I will contact you off-blog to check on your availability to talk to our Board/Delegates.

Thanks so much for sharing this for others to use!!!

Josh

Both of my daughters attend(ed) school in Edmond. My oldest just graduated from UCO magna cum laude and my youngest is a 7th grader at the middle school your son will attend next year. It improves incrementally at middle school in that they do have a homework hotline which you can call to get the daily assignments (I use Gizmo to record the call so that we can re-hear it if necessary). They do require the purchase of a paper agenda, but don’t check on its use like they did in elementary school.

The biggest problem that I see with use of the school websites here in Edmond (and to be fair, with my employer–Oklahoma City Public Schools) is that they are stuck in Web 1.0 mode with static, proprietary web pages that must be updated by a “guru” (be that a webmaster, district employee, or techno-geek volunteer teacher with little time). There is so much wonderful, FREE stuff out there that could be used but so many districts are afraid of the lack of control and liability. Teachers don’t want to make the time to learn how to use what’s available and many times if you do find something, chances are it will be blocked at school.

The one advantage to living in an affluent community is that my children and your children do have access to computers and the internet outside of school, and have parents who encourage and understand the importance using these tools at home.

Wow! This has really got me thinking and I’ve got more to say (maybe a post this weekend on my blog when I’ve got more time).

One quick thought on departmentalization. My youngest participated in a trial of that in 4th grade at her elementary school. It actually was her best year, because her 3 teachers got to teach to their strengths. It might not suit every child and there were 2 self-contained traditional classes for those that it wasn’t a good fit for, but she really blossomed academically and enjoyed that year.

How many other parents are sitting in “Back To School Night” classrooms, hoping to hear something (anything) that is relevant to their child? I think it’s sad that most parents have also swallowed the Kool-Aid that mass amounts of HW is also a great thing. Copying assignments into the planner for 30 min a day is important and only using technology during free time is a valuable “treat.”

Personally, I hate these nights because I too, sit there and dread every word I am forced to listen to and consume (and against @garystager’s recommendation, I don’t confront everyone openly Like you, I choose a few questions and swallow the rest.

Teachers are good people who are trying to do the right thing. I provide EdTech staff development in my district. We have 12,000 teachers and situations like this make me think I’m not only not doing my job, but I can never do my job.

Lee (@teachakidd)