*My New Heros: Elementary School Teachers
By Dave Warlick on future
I had a singular experience yesterday. Actually, it was the freezing sensation of an ice pick of terror plunging into my spine. I arrived at the tech-rich elementary school in rural eastern North Carolina around 8:00, after getting up early and working through some technical issues with Class Blogmeister.
The tech facilitator sat down with me and my schedule of the day, pointing out that I would work with kindergarden teachers in learning to use digital video cameras at 8:20, and then first grade teachers at 9:00. Then at 9:30, I would work with a group of 1st graders, and at 9:50 a group of 2nd graders, and at 10:15 another group of 2nd graders, and then…
“Wait a minute!” I said both with my voice and what I’m sure was a threatening gesture with my hands. “Second graders? Not teachers?”
“Yes, students!” He replied with all of the ease and nonchalance I could possibly have handled, at this pure moment between a world of certainty and a potential experience so wrought with horror that I dare not venture further with my mind.
“..and their teachers!” I demanded.
“Nope, just the students. Don’t worry, we’ll be around.”
I actually felt the ground shutter under my feet. “Seven year olds.”
“Mostly”, the tech facilitator said, obviously beginning to enjoy this exchange.
“I don’t like seven year olds. They’re small. I could step on them. They wrap themselves around your knees, and they carry germs.”
“You’ll do fine,” he said as he got up and walked away.
I worked through the Kindergarten teachers, which mostly went fine, except for the two who came in 15 minutes late. Then the first grade teachers. Same experience.
Then a teachers assistant walked in with a group of second graders, sat them in their seats, and then quickly walked out and closed the door behind her. …and there they were, tiny human beings. Germs buzzing around their faces.
I handed the cameras out and found myself at a loss at how to start. They began to ably turn the machines over and over examining and trying the various buttons and switches, opening the LCD display, and I realized that I’d better get started before they figured it out for themselves.
I walked them through turning the cameras on, finding that in some cases I had to have their thumb follow my thumb through the process. After practicing that, I helped them to use the display, asked them to describe why it might be better to use the LCD display than the view finder. Showed them the affect of zooming, and asked them to figure out how to make their cameras zoom. Then I showed them how to start recording, and walked them out in to the media center where a group of teachers from thirty miles to the north were getting ready for a tour of this technology-rich school. The students walked in videoing the teachers as they received their introductory presentation from the principal.
When we got back into the computer lab, we were out of time, so I decided to take each of their cameras, and set them up into VCR mode so that they could watch their videos. One little boy walked over beside of me while I was setting up his camera, laid his head on my shoulder and watched. At that moment, I realized why elementary teachers do what they do. Before that moment, I didn’t know, could not fathom. But I understand now.
Elementary school teachers sit there, by their children, with small heads on their shoulders looking into a future where anything is possible. At seven, anything is possible. This child can do anything with his life, go anywhere, accomplish any goal. And to see the world along side that child is a singular experience.
Technology is a tool. It’s a lens through which we can show that world of infinite possibilities to our children — through which they can examine, explore, and affect their world. If we continue to look at technology as a machine and education as a process that we can plug our children into in order to improve reading and math test scores, then whose shoulder are they going to rest their heads on? Whose hand are they going to hold as the walk into their future?
* Pic taken from Aula 24 hs, tu colegio en Internet
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