Azul Terronez spoke to me in his usual, hushed tone as we stood in the clamorous hallway, seconds before the start of 1st period. We were caught in the midst of one of our "sharing ideas for projects" brainstorms. "We're preparing students for jobs that have yet to be invented." He was talking about his latest idea to have students design apps for iPhones and Droids. His idea was to use our students' interest in social networking for the benefit of learning, rather than try to shut it out. Social networking is practically hard-wired into most of our middle schoolers' brains.
David Brooks writes an interesting editorial (NY Times) about what sort of country America will be in the coming century. It reminds me of what Azul was saying.
"In fact, the U.S. is well situated to be the crossroads nation. It is well situated to be the center of global networks and to nurture the right kinds of networks. Building that America means doing everything possible to thicken connections: finance research to attract scientists; improve infrastructure to ease travel; fix immigration to funnel talent; reform taxes to attract superstars; make study abroad a rite of passage for college students; take advantage of the millions of veterans who have served overseas.
The nation with the thickest and most expansive networks will define the age. There’s no reason to be pessimistic about that."
Bobby
ReplyDeleteI recently read an article that discussed the topic of First Droppers. To understand "First Droppers" think first of Innovators. If Innovators are those who introduce a change in culture, style, economics, politics fashion etc. then a "First Dropper" is one that decides when a trend is over and should be abandon and released to allow for new innovation.
The article made me think of my own practice as an educator. I had to ask myself when do I have to think like an innovator and when do I have to think like a First Dropper. When is it the time to abandon a practice, way of thinking or a fad in my classroom. I would like to think that the classroom is impervious to the whims and changes of the world but is it really? If it isn't penetrable by the changes in the world, is my classroom "real world enough?
I have be wondering what will I change in my practice as a innovator and what will I change as a First Dropper?
I wonder if this kind of thinking is dangerous? If it is, then I think I might be on the right path.
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ReplyDeleteAzul, I'm glad you mentioned this.
ReplyDeleteI recently had a discussion with my teaching partner about being innovative and being a first dropper (although, at the time I had no idea that it was called this). We were considering creating a book as a product for our upcoming project. However, we hesitated at the idea since we've both published with our previous students and have seen a growing trend of publishing at our school. But then we considered the question: Has this group of 6th graders published a book with us?
Even though something may start to seem trendy or unauthentic to us as teachers, we have to consider the idea that each group passing through our classes is experiencing things for the first time. To use a pop-cultural reference, teachers are a bit like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. And this is not to say that every batch of students is identical.
I think we should strive for innovation and drop trends that aren't successful, but be mindful of the experience as seen through the eyes of the student. If we're acting as First Droppers on our own behalf, we might be taking away great learning experiences from students.
Here are two articles about First Droppers:
Newsobserver
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/05/30/505728/first-droppers-give-business-early.html
Details
http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201011/tastemaker-first-dropper-trend-stopper